Natto Makers to Public Baths Suffer in Abenomics Divide

Almost everything Mikio Matsushita’s factory near Tokyo needs to produce natto is imported, from the soybeans used in the fermented Japanese snack to the polystyrene trays in which they’re packaged.

The reliance on imports, combined with the domestic market focus for the quintessentially Japanese product, puts Matsushita on the losing end of government policies that aid heavy exporters by weakening the country’s currency.