Faced with rising costs or difficult market conditions, a number of Japanese companies have improved their prospects by adopting environmentally friendly business strategies, with some going as far as moving into entirely new industry sectors.A distiller in southwestern Japan and a precision equipment maker in the country's northeast are among the companies to have successfully pivoted in new, eco-friendly directions.Kirishima Shuzo Co., producer of "shochu" liquors, is making use of methane gas generated by the sediment left over from the fermentation of sweet potatoes used to make the dis…READ FULL ARTICLE