About PSPINC and Japan

May 13, 2026 — Wednesday
Cloudy Morning in San Diego

 

Today is the third and final day of my California trip.

 

This morning, my staff will pick me up at the hotel, and we will head toward Los Angeles. Today I will be speaking at a seminar in Torrance about my experiences with AI technologies.

 

After the seminar and morning meetings, I will spend some time meeting with friends and business partners before flying back to Seattle this evening from Orange County Airport.

 

It almost feels like I brought Seattle weather with me to San Diego. The skies have been cloudy and cooler than what most people expect from Southern California.

 

Today’s seminar is not about AI theory or science fiction. It is about practical experience — how AI can actually be used in business, what works, what does not, and what people should realistically expect from the technology.

 

AI is moving incredibly fast, and many people are excited, confused, worried, or sometimes overly optimistic about it. I hope I can share some useful insights based on what we have been learning and building at PSPINC. At the same time, I also want to hear what other people are thinking and experiencing with AI. Sometimes the most valuable part of a seminar is not the presentation itself, but the conversations that happen afterward.

 

It has been a short but productive trip. Now hopefully traffic between San Diego and Los Angeles will cooperate.

 

Wish me luck.

The Japanese Company That Spent 30 Years on One Material — and Won Boeing’s Trust

 

Most companies would give up after years of losses.

 

But one Japanese company continued investing in research and development for decades, believing that one material would eventually change the future of aviation. That company was Toray Industries
.

 

For nearly 30 years, Toray continued developing carbon fiber composite materials even when the business was not highly profitable. Carbon fiber was expensive, difficult to manufacture, and at the time there was no guaranteed large market for it.

 

Many companies would have stopped.

 

Toray did not.

 

Then Boeing made a historic decision.

 

When Boeing developed the 787 Dreamliner, it wanted to build a next-generation aircraft using carbon fiber composites for much of the airframe instead of traditional aluminum. The result would be a lighter aircraft with better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs.

 

After years of testing and certification, Boeing selected Toray as the primary supplier of carbon fiber composite materials for the Boeing 787 program. In fact, Toray’s materials became some of the only certified carbon fiber prepregs approved for primary structural use on the aircraft.

 

Today, about 50% of the Boeing 787’s structural weight uses carbon fiber composite materials.

 

This story is not only about technology.

 

It is about long-term vision.

 

Japanese manufacturing companies are often criticized for moving slowly or investing too much time into perfection. But sometimes that patience creates something competitors cannot easily copy. Toray continued believing in carbon fiber technology long before the market fully existed.

 

Thirty years later, the world’s newest commercial airliner proved them right.

The Story Behind the T-7A Red Hawk

Many people see the new U.S. Air Force T-7A Red Hawk simply as a modern jet trainer, but the aircraft carries an important piece of history.

 

The T-7A was developed by Boeing and Saab as the next-generation trainer for future fighter pilots. It is designed to replace the aging T-38 Talon, which has been in service since the 1960s. But what makes the aircraft especially meaningful is its name and the red tail design.

 

The “Red Hawk” name honors the legendary Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. These African American fighter pilots flew escort missions in Europe and became famous for the red-painted tails on their aircraft. At a time when segregation still existed in the United States military, the Tuskegee Airmen proved their skill, discipline, and courage in combat.

 

The aircraft’s red tail is a tribute to those famous “Red Tail” fighter squadrons.

 

The name “Red Hawk” also connects to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk flown by the 99th Fighter Squadron, linking past and future generations of military aviation.

 

I think this is a good example of how military aircraft are not just machines. Sometimes they also carry history, memory, and respect for the people who flew before.

Japan Once Helped Russia Scrap Nuclear Submarines

 

Many people would be surprised to learn that Japan once helped Russia dismantle retired nuclear submarines after the Cold War.

 

At first glance, this sounds strange. Japan and Russia have had complicated political and territorial issues for decades. However, this cooperation was not about military support. It was about safety, environmental protection, and preventing nuclear risks near Japan.

 

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was left with many aging nuclear submarines sitting in ports in the Russian Far East. Some still contained spent nuclear fuel and radioactive materials. Maintaining or dismantling these submarines required enormous amounts of money, and there were growing concerns about accidents, leaks, or improper handling of nuclear materials.

 

Because many of these submarines were located relatively close to Japan, the Japanese government decided it was better to help reduce the risk rather than ignore the problem.

 

Japan joined international nuclear threat reduction efforts and provided financial and technical support for dismantling retired submarines, handling radioactive waste, and improving storage and transport systems for spent nuclear fuel.

 

This was not unique to Japan. The United States and several European countries also supported similar programs after the Cold War to reduce global nuclear risks.

 

Today, with tensions between Russia and Japan much higher because of the Ukraine war, this kind of cooperation would be far more difficult politically. But historically, it was one example of countries cooperating to reduce shared risks rather than increase them.

Cheap Does Not Always Mean Low Quality
People often misunderstand the word “cheap.”

 

Cheap does not always mean low quality. Sometimes it simply means a company operates efficiently and does not waste money.

 

At PSPINC, we try to keep prices reasonable not because we cut corners, but because we avoid unnecessary overhead, excessive marketing costs, and wasteful spending. We focus our resources on reliability, support, infrastructure, and long-term customer relationships.

 

In business, reputation is far more important than simply charging high prices.

 

A company can charge premium prices and still provide poor service. On the other hand, a company with fair pricing and strong support can build trust that lasts for decades.

 

The real question is not:
“Is it cheap?”

 

The real question is:
“Can I trust them five or ten years from now?”

 

For hosting, software, transportation, and infrastructure, long-term support matters more than flashy advertising or expensive branding.

 

Many companies spend huge amounts of money creating an image. We prefer to spend money improving the actual service.

 

Good value and low waste are not weaknesses. In many cases, they are strengths.

Toyota Crown 2.5L Hybrid and the Amazing A25A-FXS Engine

 

The 2023 Toyota Crown Hybrid uses a 2.5L engine called the A25A-FXS, part of Toyota’s “Dynamic Force Engine” family. Most people probably never hear the engine name, but from an engineering standpoint, it is one of the most impressive mass-produced gasoline hybrid engines in the world today.

 

What makes it special is not huge horsepower. It is efficiency.

 

Toyota says this engine achieves around 41% thermal efficiency, which means about 41% of the fuel’s energy is converted into actual movement. That may not sound exciting, but for a gasoline engine, it is extremely high. Many traditional gasoline engines are closer to 25–35%.

 

Toyota achieved this using an Atkinson-cycle design, a very high compression ratio, precise fuel control, low internal friction, and hybrid technology that keeps the engine operating in its most efficient range.

 

The result is a large comfortable sedan that can still deliver fuel economy close to many smaller cars.

 

What I personally find interesting is Toyota’s engineering philosophy. Instead of chasing only horsepower numbers, Toyota spent years improving efficiency, reliability, smoothness, and long-term durability. That is probably one reason Toyota hybrids earned such a strong reputation worldwide.

 

The A25A-FXS may not be a famous engine name like old sports car engines, but technologically, it is a very important engine in the modern automotive world.

Something I Did Not Know About “Top Gun”
I arrived in San Diego this morning from Seattle.

 

San Diego is famous as a major U.S. Navy city, but I recently learned something interesting that I did not know about “Top Gun.”

 

Many people, including me, associate Top Gun with Miramar in San Diego because of the famous movie starring Tom Cruise. Miramar was known as “Fightertown USA,” and it became world famous through the movie.

 

What I did not know was that the real TOPGUN school is no longer located there.

 

The U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School — the real “TOPGUN” — moved from Miramar to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada back in 1996. Miramar itself also changed from a Navy base to a Marine Corps air station.

 

Still, even today, San Diego strongly feels connected to Top Gun culture. Fighter jets, naval aviation, and military history are everywhere around the city. It is easy to understand why the movie left such a strong image of San Diego in people’s minds.

 

Sometimes traveling teaches you things you thought you already knew.

AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud are all excellent platforms. I absolutely recommend them for companies that have their own internal IT teams to manage and maintain systems.

 

But for many small businesses, the real question is not where the server runs. The real question is: who will manage it?

 

Who will apply security patches?
Who will monitor the system?
Who will recover data after a failure or cyberattack?
Who will restore operations when something breaks at 2AM?

 

Cloud platforms provide infrastructure. They do not automatically manage your business systems for you.

 

That is where PSPINC can help.

 

Instead of just renting you a server, PSPINC can manage the entire environment — hosting, monitoring, updates, backups, disaster recovery, and ongoing support — so you can focus on running your business instead of becoming an IT department yourself.

Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Nissan absolutely knew the Supra and GT-R had far more potential than the factory numbers suggested. That was not an accident — it was part engineering philosophy, part regulation, and part business strategy.

 

In the 1990s, Japan had what was called the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” among automakers. Officially, Japanese performance cars were limited to around 280 PS (276 hp). This was done partly to reduce the public image of a “horsepower war” and avoid government pressure over speed and safety concerns.

 

But the real story is more interesting.

 

Cars like the Toyota Supra (2JZ-GTE) and Nissan Skyline GT-R (RB26DETT) were massively overengineered. Strong iron blocks, forged internals, oversized cooling systems, and durable transmissions were built to survive long-term reliability under harsh conditions. Japanese engineers valued durability and balance more than chasing maximum showroom horsepower numbers.

 

The result was a car that might officially make 276 hp but could often safely handle 500–700 hp with relatively simple upgrades.

 

There were several reasons for this:

 

Reliability reputation mattered more than peak numbers.
Japan’s domestic roads did not legally allow the speeds those cars were capable of anyway.
Insurance and emissions regulations were easier with lower official output.
Motorsports and tuning culture were huge in Japan. Manufacturers understood enthusiasts would modify them.
Leaving “headroom” in the engine reduced warranty risks and improved longevity.
In many ways, the Supra and GT-R were like hidden engineering showcases. The companies built platforms stronger than necessary because Japanese manufacturing culture often prioritized perfection and reliability over marketing claims.

 

Ironically, that restraint is exactly why those cars became legends. A lightly tuned Supra or GT-R could suddenly outperform exotic supercars costing several times more.

Luffy and Modern Management

 

One Piece’s Luffy may not look like a traditional leader, but he represents many qualities modern management needs.

 

He does not lead through fear, authority, or complicated systems. He leads through trust. He understands his own weaknesses and surrounds himself with talented people who are stronger than him in specific areas. He trusts Nami for navigation, Sanji for cooking, Chopper for medicine, and Zoro for combat.

 

That is modern management.

 

A great leader does not need to know everything. A great leader builds the right team, gives them freedom to perform, and stands by them when things go wrong.

 

Luffy also has a very clear vision: becoming Pirate King. His crew members all have different dreams, but they follow him because his vision gives everyone space to pursue their own goals as well.

 

Modern companies need more leaders like that — leaders who inspire rather than control.

 

I am sorry to say that I am not good at that.😅