Masayuki Okano is living proof that building a better mousetrap gets the world to beat a path to your door.

The successful 69-year-old is hounded to speak at gatherings and seminars nationwide, which he does in the limited time he is willing to spare from working at his small factory in the Mukojima district of Sumida Ward, Tokyo.

His six-person factory specializes in metal processing and boasts annual sales of roughly 600 million yen. He shuns the title of company president, however, preferring "representative employee."