this was ishiwata's plant before the disaster. the technique requires highly experienced workers who bone the fins by hand, but after the tsunami, all 30 employees had to be laid off. ishiwata thought rebuilding would be impossible, and he gave up hope, but then loyal customers from all over japan began sending letters and e-mails of encouragement. >> translator: let me help if i can. i'll be waiting for the day i can enjoy your delicious shark fin soup again. don't disappoint me. >> translator: i was especially touched by an e-mail that read you might find the next year impossible, so as you rebuild, take it slow and steady. i'll be waiting in 2013. we're receiving an incredible show of support, so i have to get busy. >> reporter: ishiwata strengthened his resolve to start over again. he got a new loan and decided to set up production at a temporary location. he found a spot with running water. it's on higher ground safe from another tsunami. he's recruiting former competitors to help set up a website. he also makes t-shirts to s

ishiwata thought rebuilding would be impossible and he gave up hope. but then, loyal customers from all over japan began sending letters and e-mails of encouragement. >> let me help if i can. i'll be waiting for the day i can enjoy your delicious shark fin soup again. don't disappoint me. >> translator: i was especially touched by an e-mail that read, you might find next year impossible so as you rebuild take it slow and steady. i'll be waiting in 2013. we're receiving an incredible show of support so i have to get busy. >> reporter: ishiwata strengthened his resolve to start over again. he got a new loan and decided to set up production at a temporary location. he found a spot with running water. it's on higher ground, safe from another tsunami. he's recruiting former competitors to help set up a website. he also makes t-shirts to spread the word about his business. >> translator: the design illustrates young people raising their fists to show their determination to fight on. before the earthquake, we were fighting each other. but now, we realize that

but ishiwata sees this as the first step to a full recovery. his eventual goal is to ship his fins to people all over the country just like he did before. >> translator: it takes more time to prepare than our other products. so it might be the last item we'll tackle. we will do our best to bring it back to dinner tables. but it will take time. one day, though, we'll definitely ship our shark fins to our customers again. we hope they will wait patiently and not forget us. >> the plant's production has reached a little over 3% of its predisaster levels. they hope to resume operations by next april. >>> more than 80,000 people who survived the disaster are still living in evacuation shelters. so far it's been hard to provide those people with the emotional support they need. japan has returned to its state of the art technology to offer some help in the form of a cuddly robot. its internal sensors and artificial intelligence system react to touch. it recognizes five languages. he's being put to therapeutic use for people in emergency shelters. her