english description - save the銚子電鉄 @ ウィキ

• the below is the voices into english.

caption: a pastoral railway company in Chiba says "Buy sembei(ricecracker) to help us, please"

anchor person:A strange kind of appeal of (a pastoral railway company) "please buy sembei".

caption in right upper corner:"please buy sembei" exceptional appeal from a railway company; -Train will stop running-

narration: Do you know the railway company "Choshi Dentetsu" ? It's extra-pastoral railway runs in the headland which projects to the Pacific ocean.

This railway, Choshi Dentetsu is facing to critical moment.

This is the massege named immediate report on the website of the railway company. It says "Please buy nure-sembei(ricecracker wet type) to manege the railway".

Not "Please ride the train" but "Please buy nure-sembei". it's a railway company.
Now, it seems they are giving up to hope increase of passenger.

And to see the right-up side of the website, "We have to earn money to maintain railcars"

They try to show their cheerfulness with the words, however the appeal reveals their serious anguish. Can they in the world help Choshi Dentesu Railway?

TV reporter:This is fresh from oven! Hot! I eat this. Unique texture and well-seasoned salty-sweet flavor with shoyu(soysource) is very good.

caption:can "Nure-sembei" become the savior?

narration:And the embezzlement of corporate funds, which is revealed in the court last week is...
The touching message on the website by Choshi Dentetsu;

The end of this year coming, We are in trouble that we cannot give out an order to have legal inspection of the traincars because of fund shortage. To finance enough money, we thank you in advance for considering to buy nure-sembei, to buy goods of Choshi Dentetsu and to ride routinely our train.

They say "To keep up with the cost of the legal inspection, buy nure-sembei".

Despite it is railway company, why they does't say "take a ride on train" but "buy nure-sembei"? it's a something of questions.

TV reporter: Shortly after 11 a.m. the train runs for central Choshi. The capacity of this traincar is 120 passengers. Inside traincar is almost enpty.

Choshi Dentetsu is pastoral line with 6.4km length between central Choshi and Inubouzaki cape and so on. Jam-up inside train is as you see. except morning and evening rush-hour, free from rush.

a passenger: Sometimes there are no otner passeners without me, sometimes 2 or 3. deficit (of Choshi Dentetsu) is Obvious.

Passengers decrease and decrease year by year. Recent passengers are approximately 40% of
peak days, 30 years ago. The deficits is 2,400 million yen, every year.
Choshi Dentetsu line is a day-to-day means transportation to residents around the railway and needed by them.

a passenger:If disappears, we'll strand.
a passenger:The railway is needed, isn't it?

About 10 years ago, they thought out side-business. Makeing and selling nure-sembei with soy source which is an indigenous product of Choshi.

TV reporter:through the ticket wicket,this is the nure-sembei shop.Unique texture and well-seasoned salty-sweet flavor with shoyu(soysource) is very good. Prepaid phone card, Japanese Sake, model of traincar and paper weight made of real rail formerly used (sold out now) are also sold.

Anyway, spirit of "sell what we can sell". It's amazing that sales of nure-sembei and other goods is as twice as fare yield of railway as main-business.

Assistant manager of Railway department, Choshi Dentetsu company, Mr. Kousaku Kougo says:1 against 2, nure-sembei earns as twice as fare yield of railway. to sell sembei is better and sooner than to wait increase of passengers.

To conclude, Choshi Dentetsu can expect better income with appeal to sell nure-sembei than to be used train.

In this regard, there's another reason to appeal nure-sembei. (This is) former president, Ken'jirou Uchiyama arrested this august with suspicion of embezzlement of corporate funds. On the first day of his trial, it reveals that he borrowed and borrowed money as president of the railway company, and he go through the money to pay back other debt of the other company he runs. The amount is about 110 million yen.

TV reporter: This is the building defendant Uchiyama formarly Choshi Dentetsu president lives in, which is facing broad avenue nearby central Chiba city. the company Uchiyama runs is also in this building.

TV reporter:I heard the money lender collect hard, what do you know of around him?
Who knows Uchiyama:dubious persons often get in and out.since early times his company does suspicious.
TV reporter:Is he Dave?
Who knows Uchiyama:No, Josh.

narration: The side-business helps Choshi Dentetsu and Choshi Dentetsu have managed hardly in the pasengers decreasing and decrepit traincars. finally, shouldering the dept former pesident makes personally.

Assistant manager of Railway department, Choshi Dentetsu company, Mr. Kousaku Kougo says:Some worker are not paid their salary on pay day but on the end day of the month. Reaching Dec., the workers are hardly paid their bonus.

narration:to satisfy assumed 110 million yen, how many pieces of nure-sembei which is 85 yen a piece must they make?
<caption:1.29 millions of sembei must be sold.>

It seems the emergency appeal rewards them. some railway maniacs who are anxious about the company poverty rush to Inubo station.

A railway maniac:I'm really moved because the company and workers bare and reveal their true hardship without getting embarrassed. and I determined to backup them.

Station attendant:From yesterday or the day before yesterday, visitors, two or three, everyone of them buys a lot of goods of Choshi Dentetsu. The sales amount gets beyond 10,000 yen. We've never had such a situation.

　--above all--