[3] Japan Steel Works was set up with investment from British firms Vickers, Armstrong Whitworth and Mitsui.

These include the use of argon gas to eliminate impurities, and the addition of manganese, chromium and nickel to make the steel harder.

[6] However, Japan Steel Works is the only one that can make cores in a single piece without welds, which reduces risk from radiation leakage.

[7] The company has boosted production to 6 units per year from 4 previously of the steel pressure vessel forgings, which contain the nuclear reactor core.

[7] Due to the production bottleneck, utilities across the world are submitting orders years in advance of any actual need, along with deposits worth hundreds of millions of dollars.