Since joining the laundering company Kikuya in 1995, Akemi Hirayama says she has never missed a day of work.
Hirayama, who works at a Kikuya facility in Matsubushi, Saitama Prefecture, was commended for her 10 years of service with the company this month.
When times are busiest, the 45-year-old part-timer handles 300 to 400 bags of clothes a day. All items need to be thoroughly checked before washing to ensure the buttons are sewn on securely. They need to be checked again afterward, to see whether the stains have been removed.
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