Tokyo ( CNN ) -- First come the blackouts , then come the blues ... at least from worried business owners in disaster-hit Japan . In the end , the rolling outages may wind up being a bigger drag on the Japanese economy than the initial damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami . The area that relies on electric power from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. , including Tokyo , accounts for more than half the economy of Japan , so any outages have long-ranging and sometimes unexpected consequences . A fast-food noodle factory in Saitama , just north of Tokyo , is but one example . For 63 years , the Kuritaeimu Derica has turned out precooked noodle dishes with fresh ingredients for sale in convenience stores . But managing director Sawako Kurita said the family business is at risk of shutting down and cutting hundreds of employees . Kurita 's problems run all up and down the intensely choreographed production chain . Each day 300 workers at the spotless suburban factory turn out 80,000 packages of 120 varieties of noodle dishes , relying on dozens of vendors for ingredients . The factory lost some food and flour during the quake , but Kurita said the days afterward were far harder to deal with at the plant . Dozens of foreign workers fled back to their home countries after word spread of the dangerous and still ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant . Then pre-announced blackouts forced the factory to shut down for three-hour periods , often during peak production . And Kurita said it takes hours before and after each shutdown to get the machines up and working . `` Our factory has no windows so we ca n't leave our workers inside , '' Kurita said . `` We have to take them out to the office or the cafeteria , and for three hours we give them some food and drinks because we feel bad for them just waiting to start again . '' The hourly employees get no pay for the wait . And most are mothers , often with children in the company day care center who do n't have flexible schedules to work around blackouts . Sayuri Kimura , 38 , said she 's worried about the cuts and how to provide for her young son . `` I think the planned blackouts are inevitable , and it seems working hours and income will go down , so we 're all worried about that , '' she said while on break at the factory . And the problem 's not only in Saitama -- the ingredients from farmers are also in constant flux . Kurita explained they are scrambling to buy vegetables and meat from areas outside the affected prefectures where they had relied on food from before . Fuel shortages and quake-damaged roads also hamper deliveries , blackouts let fresh foods spoil , and sometimes trucks are stuck behind electrically powered warehouse doors . Then there are problems with how to get the goods to customers . Kurita said many stores are shut and customers are short of cash across the Tohoku area , meaning revenues are taking a hit . Tokyo Electric has been able largely to avoid blackouts in recent days as cool weather and customer cutbacks have led to nearly a 25 % reduction in demand around Tokyo , the company said . Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday that he prefers industry and individuals to cut back voluntarily , but Tokyo Electric has warned that as temperatures rise and air conditioners get switched on , companies may be forced to trim power use by a fifth , or face mandatory cuts . At the Kurita factory , a few small generators sit outside with makeshift power chords snaking along the floor to ensure they can keep phones and computers working to take orders . But a generator large enough to power the factory would take months to find and deliver , and regulations ban big units near the apartments that crowd all around the plant . Kurita said she 's tried to bring aid to the worst-hit tsunami areas , personally delivering tens of thousands of noodle packs to the survivors in the Tohoku region . But she said now the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric must help her and other small businesses out . `` As you see in the factory , all the products come down a line , so if we 're asked for a 20 % reduction in power we have to stop everything , '' Kurita said , sighing . `` We did n't suffer badly in the quake and have to do our part to help ... but we ca n't afford to cut 20 % and keep on in business . ''
Rolling outages have long - range and unexpected consequences to Japan 's economy . Fast - food noodle factory in Saitama is at risk of closing due to impact of blackouts . ` ` We ca n't going to cut 100 % and keep on in business , '' factory owner says . Nippon Electric Power Co. warns companies that face mandatory power cuts as temperatures rise .