On a farm employing a sophisticated technique to develop special bananas in Okayama Prefecture, people with disabilities play a major role in the routine work of watering, fertilizing and removing yellowing leaves from the plants.
Every morning, several mentally disabled workers come to the banana plantation of Chieko Saito, 54, in the city of Okayama, a 30-minute car ride from the welfare facility where they live. In the harvest season in the fall, more people from the facility pick fruit there.
The workers cannot communicate well with others, but one of them said they found weeding "enjoyable."