
Oil surge poses hazard for economy
IHT/Asahi: August 31, 2005
....Masami Takano, president of Mito-based natto maker Daruma Shokuhin, says the rise in oil prices has wiped out more than half of his company's profits.
The price of heavy oil used to boil soybeans has risen about 50 percent over the past year, as has the price of plastic natto packages.
In an attempt to offset price increases, the company has cut the daily working hours of part-timers by five hours...more....