Photo/Illutration Kikuo Shibuya, left, and Tsuyoshi Takemori dine on instant noodles at the factory in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, on Feb. 8. (Shigetaka Kodama)

Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of a five-part series looking at the lives of people in Fukushima Prefecture with a particular focus on their meals 12 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Through their meals, the series depicts how the nuclear power plant disaster totally changed people’s lives in the region.

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FUTABA, Fukushima Prefecture--The roar of the machines makes it difficult for two craftsmen to carry on a conversation at a huge factory here.

Even while dining on instant noodles for lunch, their noisy sounds of slurping couldn't be heard.

Tsuyoshi Takemori, 50, and Kikuo Shibuya, 55, moved to Futaba in December after their company, Asanonenshi Co., relocated its manufacturing base here. 

The twine manufacturer, based in Gifu Prefecture, built a factory in the town. The two men are busy starting the operation of the new plant.

Trial runs of machine continue in preparation for full-scale operations to commence in April.

“Life here is more normal than I had expected before moving to the town,” they said. “But there are not many restaurants, so we eat instant noodles most days.”

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The new factory of Asanonenshi Co., which has a store and a cafe, is seen on Feb. 8. It is expected to become a new tourist spot. (Shigetaka Kodama)

The entire textile industry is aging.

The employees at their business partners are getting old and there are no successors. The company thought it would be difficult to continue manufacturing yarn.

The factory in Gifu Prefecture is also small and has limited manufacturing capability.

Since an industrial complex had been built in Futaba, Asanonenshi decided to open a plant here, looking for an opportunity.

The company used a government subsidy program to construct the factory. The program is aimed at creating jobs in Fukushima Prefecture, which was devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

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Kikuo Shibuya sets up threads on a machine at the factory in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, on Feb. 8. (Shigetaka Kodama)

The town, whose jurisdiction includes the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, finally became habitable again in August last year after the evacuation order imposed due to high radiation levels was lifted.

Residents had been unable to return for 11 years. Despite these harsh circumstances, the company was able to hire 12 locals.

The company is doing well but had once hit rock bottom.

“We didn’t have any work to do and my salary was slashed drastically,” said Takemori of the time.

Amid the situation, however, he and his colleagues continued to make trial products.

While doing so, the company developed a special yarn that twisted cotton thread and water-soluble thread together.

When hot water is poured over the special yarn, the water-soluble thread dissolves and the cotton thread remains.

That makes the cotton thread swell, and it becomes fluffy and highly absorbent.

Towels using the yarn were a big hit, and the company’s financial performance enjoyed a V-shaped recovery.

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A yarn twister at the factory in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, on Feb. 8 (Shigetaka Kodama)

Takemori said Asanonenshi's work culture is that “we won’t say it’s impossible and we don’t give up.”

Sales recovered to 1.3 billion yen ($9.5 million) in 2018 from about 200 million yen in 2007.

“If you keep at it, anyone can do it. If you love it, you can continue anything,” Takemori said with a smile.

What kind of chemical reactions will be created when those who moved to the town and locals are combined? It is as if threads are twisted together to create the special yarn.

Asked about their expectations for the new employees, the two replied, “Tell us if you know of some good restaurants.”

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