NEW YORK (Kyodo) Yoshinobu Ishida walked through the plastic foam manufacturing company his father founded, pondering a way to sustain the business.
He picked up some of the tiny beads left on the floor, wrapped them in fabric and realized the answer he was looking for was right in front of him.
This was in 2000, and the beads, taken from the remnants of bicycle helmets, led Ishida to create what ultimately became known as Mogu, an ultra-squishy, uber comfortable pillow.