I went to Kyiv in July, and then again in November. This time, I’m visiting a city in the west.

Why was the second trip to a different city? I was curious about that, so I asked him about it.

So the second time wasn’t in Kyiv, right?

Yes. It’s a city in the west called Lviv. It’s close to the Polish border.

Why wasn’t it Kyiv?

I went to Kyiv, the capital, in July, and there were terrible bombings even while I was there. It gets targeted because it’s the capital. That’s only natural.

Even so, I wondered if they’d set up a factory there. Ukraine isn’t just Kyiv, after all.

We thought we should check out other cities as well.

“Should we really do this here? Are there no other options?” That’s why I went to check it out.

Did someone tell you to do that?

No. That was my own decision.

You went even though no one told you to?

It wasn’t as if anyone had advised me that I should check out other places, nor was there any rule saying I had to go. It’s just that I couldn’t make a decision without seeing them first.

What was Lviv like?

What surprised me was that there’s a Japan Information Desk inside City Hall. There are even staff members who speak Japanese—though they’re actually Ukrainian.

Are they trying to attract Japanese companies?

That attitude was very clear. In fact, a Japanese manufacturer that produces automotive wiring harnesses is already based there.

I heard you also met with the mayor.

Yes, I did. He’s been mayor for nearly 20 years, has visited Japan before, and was a very passionate person. I had the opportunity to talk about our technology at City Hall.Every morning at 9:00 a.m., there’s a nationwide moment of silence. That day, I happened to be at City Hall with the mayor during that time, and I’ll never forget how moving it was when we stepped out onto the balcony together to observe the moment of silence facing the city.

So, it seems things went well.

We were able to forge a very deep connection with the local government. However, we didn’t see eye to eye on the crucial points.

What do you mean?

There isn’t much debris, you see.

Oh, I see.

The attacks are heaviest in the east, so the rubble tends to accumulate there. That means there aren’t any raw materials nearby.

Did you go see the processing facility?

I did. Since there’s so little debris, not much aid has been sent there either. It was just a mix of concrete chunks, tire fragments, and what looked like kitchen waste, all left unseparated. It had started fermenting and smelled terrible.

So it wasn’t sorted?

That’s right. Also, landfilling is really cheap in Ukraine. Partly because the country is so vast, I heard it costs about 3 euros per cubic meter. It costs almost nothing.

So there’s no reason to sort it.

Exactly. Recycling doesn’t take root in places where you can dispose of waste cheaply. I don’t think this is unique to Ukraine, though.

So, Lviv was taken off the list of candidates.

It was.

But we wouldn’t have known if we hadn’t gone there, right?

We wouldn’t have known. If we’d just looked at maps and data, the western part—where there were fewer attacks—would have seemed like the better choice.

In this city, I’m seeing things completely unrelated to the factory situation.

To keep this from getting too long, I’ll continue in the next post.