Mid-September 1990, Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture.
Autumn arrived earlier on the northern edge of the Kanto Plain than it did in Tokyo. The rice fields had already been harvested, leaving bare, yellowed earth that looked dry and lifeless beneath the overcast sky.
A fleet of black cars departed from Fukaya Station and turned off the prefectural road onto a narrow lane, flanked by low concrete walls and rusted wire fences.
Fukaya Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
The factory occupied twelve thousand tsubo /4 hectares (roughly 10 acres). and had once been a core secondary subcontractor for Toshiba's white goods division.
Refrigerator compressor casings, washing machine motor stators, air conditioner outdoor unit sheet metal parts—one out of every three core components in Kanto-region household appliances had been stamped out of the workshops here.
Now, the factory was silent, as if it had been abandoned for years.
The black Toyota Century rolled over cracks in the concrete pavement and came to a steady stop in front of the administration building.
Fujita Tsuyoshi got out first, holding the door open with his right hand while shielding the roof with an umbrella in his left.
Satsuki stepped onto the wet concrete in her small black leather shoes and looked up at a motionless exhaust fan mounted on the building's exterior wall.
Endo climbed out from the passenger seat, a bulging dark brown cowhide briefcase tucked under his arm.
Factory Manager Kono was already waiting at the entrance. Fifty-seven years old, with graying hair, he wore a light blue work jacket that had faded to gray. Two cheap ballpoint pens were clipped into his chest pocket.
He held his ground and bowed deeply when he saw Satsuki and her party.
"Miss Saionji, Managing Director Endo. Welcome to the inspection."
Satsuki gave a slight nod. She didn't enter the building right away. Instead, she turned toward the continuous row of workshop buildings on the right.
"Manager Kono, take me to the production line."
Kono's step faltered. He rubbed his palms together subconsciously, then moved aside to lead them through the corridor toward Stamping Workshop No. 1.
The iron sliding door screeched as it was pulled open.
Only a third of the fluorescent lights inside were on. The unpowered tubes hung beneath the trusses, coated in a layer of gray, lint-like dust.
Three four-hundred-ton double-point press machines stood in a line. Their massive cast-iron flywheels were still, and a dried film of lubricant remained on the guide pillars in the mold-closing area, reflecting dully under the dim light.
The yellow safety lines on the floor had been worn indistinct by the constant tread of rubber-soled work shoes.
Satsuki walked to the nearest press and looked down at the nameplate: Komatsu Ltd. H2F-400, manufactured in Showa 59.
"The Komatsu H2F series," she said, looking up at Kono. "Manufactured in Showa 59. It's only been six years. Is the mold-closing precision still within tolerance?"
Kono froze. He hadn't expected the young girl in the navy-blue sailor uniform to recognize the equipment's model and year of manufacture at a glance.
"Y-yes." Kono snapped back to attention and stepped forward, patting the dust-covered cast-iron casing.
"This batch of Komatsu machines uses ductile iron beds, so the rigidity degrades very slowly. We ran a laser calibration before the shutdown last month. The mold-closing gap was 0.02 millimeters—well within tolerance."
As he spoke, a note of heartache slipped into his voice.
"I went to Komatsu's headquarters with the former president to inspect these three presses myself. They cost 120 million yen each. Now they're just sitting here, and the anti-rust maintenance alone costs 200,000 yen every month."
Satsuki didn't respond. She bypassed the press and walked toward the injection molding area deeper in the workshop.
Six Sumitomo Heavy Industries all-electric injection molding machines were arranged in a neat row, their nozzles pointing in the same direction.
Every hopper cover was locked tight, and the control panels were plastered with handwritten Shutdown - Sealed labels.
"Endo."
Endo immediately pulled a bound report from his briefcase, flipped to the third page, and handed it to Satsuki with both hands.
She took the report, her eyes scanning the dense columns of numbers.
"The Fukaya plant currently has three hundred and twenty permanent employees," Endo reported quietly, standing half a step behind her.
"One hundred and ten in the stamping department, eighty-five in injection molding, sixty in assembly, and sixty-five in quality control and administration."
He turned a page.
"Since the Ministry of Finance issued its lending restriction order in March this year, Toshiba has cut seventy percent of its subcontracting orders.
The Fukaya plant's monthly capacity utilization has plummeted from ninety-three percent this time last year to eleven percent today."
"At the current rate of fixed cost consumption," Endo closed the report,
"the plant's cash flow will reach zero in forty-two days. At that point, we'll be unable to pay October's wages."
Kono stood to the side, his hands hanging at his sides. His fingers unconsciously picked at the edge of his work jacket pocket.
"Miss Saionji," Kono's voice was raspy, "the workers at the Fukaya plant are all old craftsmen who've been with me for ten or twenty years. Even the youngest assembly worker has been here eight years. I…"
The words caught in his throat, and he swallowed.
"I only ask for one thing. No matter how this factory is handled, please don't lay anyone off. Keep these people. Even if wages or hours are cut, as long as they still have a livelihood, that's enough."
Satsuki closed the report and handed it back to Endo.
She looked at Kono and remained silent for two seconds.
"Manager Kono," her voice was calm, "I didn't come here today to talk about layoffs."
Kono looked up.
Satsuki tilted her head and glanced at Endo.
Endo pulled a stack of blue-covered documents from a compartment in his briefcase.
He walked over to Kono and laid the documents flat on the stainless steel console of a nearby injection molding machine.
"S.A. Group Internal Personnel Transfer Letter of Intent." Endo opened the cover and pointed to the summary of terms on the first page. "Manager Kono, please take a look."
Kono leaned over, squinting at the dense print.
"All three hundred and twenty permanent employees will retain their current salary levels, job grades, and seniority calculations. They will be transferred in full to the Kanto Heavy-Duty Hub Business Division of S.A. Logistics Co., Ltd. through a parallel internal transfer across business divisions."
Kono's finger stopped on the line retain current salary levels. His fingertip trembled slightly.
Endo continued.
"S.A. Logistics' Kanto Hub is undergoing a large-scale expansion of its automated sorting centers in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture.
The blue-collar labor shortage exceeds one thousand two hundred people.
The master craftsmen from the stamping and injection molding departments will handle maintenance of heavy equipment and hydraulic systems on the sorting lines after their transfer.
Their skills are directly applicable, so there will be no downgrading of their roles."
Endo moved his finger to the fourth page.
"Assembly workers will be reassigned to finished goods packaging and loading dispatch. Quality control personnel will handle outbound re-inspection at the sorting terminals. Administrative and logistics staff will be transferred according to their original functions."
Endo closed the file and clasped his hands in front of him.
"The reporting date for the transfer is October 1st. Group commuter buses will be available from Fukaya Station.
Near the Funabashi Hub, the group has already leased two staff dormitories equipped with a cafeteria and bathhouse. All costs will be covered by S.A. Logistics."
Kono straightened his back. His lips quivered, and a heavy exhale escaped his nose.
"The… the entire staff? Not a single layoff?"
"Not a single one," Endo said flatly.
"For the first six months after the transfer, salaries will remain identical to their original positions. After six months, grades will be reassigned according to the logistics hub's performance appraisal system. Compensation will be based on output."
Kono's Adam's apple bobbed violently. He turned toward the silent press machines and wiped his eyes hard with the back of his hand.
"I'll go… I'll go inform the workshop right now."
His voice was muffled, so hoarse it was almost inaudible. He grabbed the documents from the console and walked quickly out of the workshop.
After a few steps, he stopped abruptly and turned to give Satsuki a deep bow. He bent until he was nearly parallel to the ground, his forehead facing the oil-stained concrete floor.
"Thank you."
Satsuki watched Kono's retreating figure until he nearly stumbled out of the workshop. Then she withdrew her gaze and let it rest on the row of silent press machines.
"Endo."
"Yes."
"Once the personnel handover is complete, clear the plant."
Satsuki walked to the nearest Komatsu press and lightly rested her fingers on the cold cast-iron bed.
"The industrial zoning for this site will remain unchanged. Notify Saionji Construction to begin work in mid-October.
Demolish the existing factory structures and pour new load-bearing foundations." Her fingers left the machine.
"Convert it into a freight transfer station for S.A. Logistics' Northern Kanto Hub. Fukaya's location near the intersection of the Joetsu Shinkansen and the Kan-Etsu Expressway makes it more valuable to keep than to sell."
Endo nodded and quickly jotted the instruction in his notebook.
Satsuki turned toward the injection molding area.
"Dismantle the presses, injection molding machines, and precision jigs on the assembly line on-site." Her eyes swept over the six Sumitomo injection molding machines.
"Disconnect the hydraulic lines, cut the base bolts, and detach the electrical control cabinets to be boxed independently. Use Dojima's team for the dismantling. Do not outsource it."
She stopped in front of the last injection molding machine.
"Pack all equipment in rust-proof wooden crates lined with VCI vapor corrosion inhibitor film, and paint the S.A. logo on the crates." She lifted her wrist to check her watch.
"The first batch of stamping equipment must arrive at the Daikoku Pier Heavy Cargo Terminal at the Port of Yokohama by the end of October and wait in the bonded yard. The injection molding equipment and jigs will follow, with all equipment arriving at the port by mid-November."
Endo's pen moved rapidly across the paper.
"Miss, the execution window will be very tight," Endo said, looking up.
"The Fukaya plant is just the one with the fastest progress. The other four bankrupt factories we acquired earlier in the Kanto region—precision casting in Kawaguchi, small motor winding in Tokorozawa, stamping molds in Ota, and the electroplating line in Maebashi—are at different stages of boxing equipment. Some are still in the final phase of asset liquidation."
"Compress them all into the same window," Satsuki said, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"By the end of November, the complete sets of equipment from all five factories must be assembled at the Port of Yokohama. For every day they are overdue, have the relevant dismantling supervisors submit their resignations."
Is there some additional plan?
Endo nodded to himself, closed his notebook, and tucked it back into his briefcase.
"Understood."