Kikuchi Seisakusho Co.'s main factory lies in Iitate, a village near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant where the government has advised people to evacuate. With workers commuting from their temporary homes outside the village every day, the company once considered relocating the factory.
Kikuchi Seisakusho Co.'s main factory lies in Iitate, a village near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant where the government has advised people to evacuate. With workers commuting from their temporary homes outside the village every day, the company once considered relocating the factory.
But on Oct. 28, Kikuchi Seisakusho, a manufacturer of metal molds and part prototypes, became the first company with a key factory in Fukushima Prefecture to list its shares since the March 11 quake and tsunami caused the nuclear accident.
The company, based in Tokyo's Hachioji, went public on the Osaka Securities Exchange's JASDAQ market for startups.
"I want to contribute to the village by employing residents in the village while expanding the company," Isao Kikuchi, 68, the company's president who is from Iitate, said at a ceremony in Tokyo marking the listing.
A number of village officials attended the ceremony.
Iitate, a village of about 6,000 residents, is located outside the 20-kilometer "no-entry" zone from the crippled plant. But residents there have been advised to evacuate due to a possible annual radiation exposure of 20 millisieverts, the maximum allowed under national safety standards.
Kikuchi Seisakusho's factory is the largest provider of jobs in the village. But about 240 workers, more than half of the company's entire work force, have moved outside of Iitate since the disaster struck.
The factory's products are used in cellphones and vehicles.
Shinichi Monma, Iitate's deputy mayor, said he was heartened by the company's listing after seeing the village endure so many hardships following the disaster and nuclear accident.
Kikuchi said he decided to keep the factory in Iitate to provide jobs for residents who hope to eventually return to the village after the nuclear crisis ends.
"I want to operate the factory in Iitate as long as workers' health is protected," he said.
The central government's nuclear energy response headquarters approved the operation of Kikuchi Seisakusho's factory in May due in part to the village's request.
Having his company listed was Kikuchi's goal for 15 years. He left the village at the age of 15 as part of a group of teenagers seeking employment in urban areas.
Kikuchi hopes the listing will help his company raise funds for research and development and equipment investment.
The company's shares opened at 1,150 yen on Oct. 28, 50 yen higher than expectations, before closing at 1,020 yen.