In the early 1990s, price competition for motorcycle control cables and other metal products was tight. In response, the veteran metalworker came up with a way to alter the dies so that the company could make parts to order in only a week. Now, if we don't keep changing, we'll die. Struggling to stay afloat put new strain on Karube at home. Although the family had a nice big house and two cars, Karube never seemed to be there.
Vacations abroad are no longer an issue.
But if I take days off, someone has to work for me, and morale will drop. Like everyone else over the centuries, the developers came late to Mogami. By the time they began barrelling up National Route 47, which threads its way over the high mountains to the Japan Sea, the Arakawas and other locals were ready for them. They wanted to build department stores, golf courses, and tear down forests for more ski resorts. In the early 1990s, tales of ripoffs and environmental destruction in nearby districts were legend.