AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Pref. (Kyodo) At Nichia Steel Works Ltd., an iron and steel manufacturer in an industrial zone, the last thing visitors might expect to see are rows of lettuce.
But the plants are in a "vegetable factory" and the lettuce grows all year round.
Masafumi Sato, a 36-year-old engineer, was ordered by the firm's president in August 2007 to develop a new business.