About PSPINC and Japan

Cardboard Drones Are Changing Modern Warfare

For many years, military technology was associated with expensive fighter jets, missiles, tanks, and highly sophisticated weapons systems. But recent conflicts are teaching the world a different lesson: sometimes the most dangerous weapon is not the most expensive one.

 

An Australian company called SYPAQ developed the Corvo PPDS, a low-cost drone made largely from waxed cardboard and foamboard. These drones are shipped flat-packed, assembled quickly in the field, and cost only a few thousand dollars each. Yet reports indicate they have been used effectively in Ukraine against Russian military assets, including radar systems and aircraft worth millions of dollars.

 

The idea sounds almost unbelievable. A cardboard drone destroying advanced military equipment? But modern warfare is changing rapidly. Cheap, expendable drones can overwhelm expensive defense systems simply through numbers, stealth, and low cost. Cardboard also has lower radar reflectivity than many traditional materials, making detection more difficult under certain conditions.

 

Japan is now paying close attention. Japanese companies are reportedly developing their own cardboard drone systems designed for swarm warfare, reconnaissance, and one-way missions.

 

This is another reminder that innovation is not always about making things more expensive or complicated. Sometimes true innovation is making something simple, cheap, scalable, and effective. In the future, industrial capability and mass production may become just as important as high-end technology itself.

Small Changes I Made to My Diet at Home

Over the years, I have become much more careful about what I eat at home. After dealing with kidney problems and eventually going through dialysis and a kidney transplant, I learned that food is not just about taste. It directly affects your health and quality of life.

 

One small change I made was reducing sugar and using Lakanto, a monk fruit–based sweetener, instead of regular sugar. I use it for coffee and other foods at home. It helps me enjoy some sweetness without consuming as much sugar.

 

I am not on a perfect diet, but I try to make better choices little by little. In the long run, small daily habits matter more than extreme short-term dieting.

The Secret Weapon That Helped Stop Kamikaze Attacks

 

During the final years of World War II, the United States Navy faced one of the most terrifying weapons of the war: Japanese kamikaze attacks.

 

Unlike traditional bombing runs, kamikaze pilots intentionally crashed their aircraft directly into ships. Even heavily armed warships had difficulty stopping planes flying straight at them at high speed. A single impact could cause devastating damage.

 

To counter this threat, the United States deployed one of the most secret technologies of the war: the VT fuse, also known as the proximity fuse.

 

Before this invention, anti-aircraft shells had to either directly hit an aircraft or explode at a preset time. That was extremely difficult against fast-moving targets. The VT fuse changed everything.

 

Inside the shell was a tiny radio device. As the shell flew near an aircraft, the reflected radio signal triggered the shell to explode automatically when it got close enough. It did not need a direct hit. Even exploding near the aircraft could destroy it.

 

This technology dramatically increased the effectiveness of naval anti-aircraft guns and helped defend Allied ships from kamikaze attacks.

 

The technology was considered so secret that the U.S. military initially restricted its use mostly to combat over the ocean. Why? Because if an unexploded shell landed on land, Imperial Japan or Germany might recover it and reverse engineer the technology. If it fell into the sea, it would likely be lost forever.

 

Today, many historians consider the proximity fuse one of the most important technological breakthroughs of World War II. It was an early example of advanced electronics and radar miniaturization long before the digital age began.

Japan and Chronic Kidney Disease — The Hidden Cost of Salt

 

Many people believe Japanese food is automatically healthy. Japan is famous for long life expectancy, seafood, vegetables, and fermented foods. However, there is another side that is often overlooked.

 

Japan also has a large number of CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) patients, and one major reason is believed to be high salt intake.

 

Traditionally, Japanese people ate large amounts of rice and grains with relatively small side dishes. Those side dishes were often salty — miso soup, pickles, dried fish, or soy sauce-based foods — but the balance was different because rice was the main part of the meal.

 

Today, many people eat less rice and more heavily flavored main dishes. Ramen, fried foods, processed meals, and rich soups have become everyday foods. The result is often much higher sodium intake than before.

 

Doctors often recommend limiting salt intake to around 2 grams per day for people at risk of kidney disease or high blood pressure. Yet a single bowl of ramen can contain three to four times that amount.

 

I know this personally. I was on dialysis for three years before receiving a kidney transplant. Take it from me — you do not want to go there.

 

Please pay attention to salt intake before your body forces you to.

Why Japan’s First Guns Were Called “Tanegashima”

The Story of Technology Adaptation

Many people do not realize that the Japanese word for early firearms, Tanegashima (種子島), actually comes from the name of a small island in southern Japan.

 

In 1543, during the Sengoku period, a Chinese junk carrying Portuguese traders drifted to Tanegashima Island, located south of Kyushu. Among the items the Portuguese brought were matchlock muskets — firearms previously unknown in Japan.

 

The local lord of Tanegashima, Tanegashima Tokitaka, immediately recognized the military value of these weapons and ordered Japanese swordsmiths and metalworkers to copy them. Japan already had highly advanced metalworking skills from sword making, so Japanese craftsmen quickly learned how to reproduce and improve the guns.

 

Because the first firearms were introduced on Tanegashima Island, the guns themselves became known throughout Japan simply as “Tanegashima.”

 

What is remarkable is how fast Japan adapted the technology. Within decades, Japan became one of the world’s largest producers of matchlock firearms. Japanese armies used them effectively in major battles such as the Battle of Nagashino in 1575.

 

This is another example of Japan’s historical strength: learning foreign technology quickly, improving it, and adapting it to fit Japanese needs and culture.

One Train for One Student — The Kyu-Shirataki Story
Kyu-Shirataki Station in Hokkaido became famous because of a story that touched people around the world.

 

The rural station had almost no passengers left except for one high school girl who used the train to commute to school. According to the widely shared story, JR Hokkaido kept the station operating until she graduated, even adjusting the schedule to fit her school hours. After graduation, the station was closed.

 

Whether every detail is perfectly accurate or not, the story became a symbol of something many people associate with Japan — responsibility, compassion, and respect for individuals even when it is not profitable.

 

What makes this story even more interesting is that this was JR, not the old government-run JNR. No tax money was being used. This was a private railway company making the decision.

 

From a strict business perspective, running service for one passenger makes little sense. A bus or even a taxi service may have been cheaper. But as a public relations story, the value was enormous. Even today, people around the world still remember it.

 

In that sense, perhaps the decision made perfect sense after all.

More Than QR Codes: The Story Behind DENSO

 

Many people know DENSO because of the invention of the QR Code. Today, QR Codes are everywhere — on restaurant menus, airline tickets, payment systems, advertisements, and even business cards. What started as a tool for manufacturing became a global standard used billions of times every day.

 

But what exactly is DENSO?

 

DENSO originally began as the electrical equipment division of Toyota Motor Corporation. In 1949, that division became an independent company called Nippon Denso Co., Ltd. Its primary role was to develop and manufacture automotive components such as starters, alternators, spark plugs, sensors, and electronic systems for Toyota vehicles.

 

Over time, DENSO grew far beyond being just a Toyota supplier. The company became one of the world’s largest automotive technology manufacturers, supplying parts and systems to many global car brands. Today, DENSO is deeply involved in advanced automotive electronics, robotics, factory automation, EV technology, and autonomous driving systems.

 

The famous QR Code was invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara and his team at DENSO Wave, a subsidiary of DENSO. The goal was simple: create a code that could store more information and be scanned much faster than traditional barcodes. One of the smartest decisions DENSO made was allowing the QR Code technology to be used openly without strict licensing fees. That decision helped the technology spread worldwide.

 

So while many people know DENSO because of QR Codes, the company’s real story is about Japanese manufacturing, engineering discipline, and the ability to create technology that quietly becomes part of everyday life around the world.

I Learned a Story About the Mitsubishi Zero

 

I recently learned something interesting about the Mitsubishi Zero fighter from World War II. For many years, I heard the story that Mitsubishi continued paying royalties to American companies even during the war. After looking into it more carefully, I found out that story is not actually true.

 

Once Japan and the United States went to war in 1941, legal payments and licensing agreements between enemy nations were effectively frozen. So wartime royalty payments to U.S. companies were not possible.

 

However, the story seems to come from real historical connections. Before the war, Japan’s aviation industry learned a great deal from Western technology. Some components and manufacturing methods used in Japanese aircraft were based on licensed American technology. For example, the Zero’s variable-pitch propeller technology came from Hamilton Standard in the United States and was produced in Japan under license.

 

There is also a famous postwar story that when Japanese companies later asked about unpaid wartime royalties, one American company symbolically requested only one dollar as settlement, representing reconciliation rather than punishment.

 

Separately, Mitsubishi reportedly continued paying invention compensation internally to engineers such as Jiro Horikoshi, the chief designer of the Zero. That part appears to be historically true.

 

I am not glorifying war in any way. I simply find the business, engineering, and intellectual property side of this history fascinating. Even during conflict, technology and human relationships remained more connected than many people realize.

Did You Know? “Short, Small, Light, and Thin” Was Once Japan’s Manufacturing Philosophy

 

Did you know there was once a Japanese manufacturing philosophy called “短小軽薄” (Tansho Keihaku)?

 

The phrase literally means:

 

Short
Small
Light
Thin

 

At first glance, it may sound negative, especially because “light” and “thin” can imply weakness in English. But in Japan, this became a symbol of advanced engineering and smart design.

 

For decades, Japanese manufacturers focused on making products smaller, lighter, quieter, and more efficient without sacrificing quality. This philosophy helped create products that changed the world — portable radios, Walkman cassette players, compact cameras, notebook computers, fuel-efficient cars, and miniaturized electronics.

 

Japan became extremely good at fitting powerful technology into limited spaces. Part of this came from necessity. Japan has limited natural resources, smaller homes, and high population density. Efficiency mattered.

 

But it was also cultural. Japanese craftsmanship often values precision, refinement, and eliminating unnecessary things. Bigger was not always considered better.

 

While many countries competed to make larger products, Japanese companies competed to make things compact, reliable, and elegant.

 

Today, the phrase “短小軽薄” is not used very often, especially in the cloud and AI era. But the mindset still exists. Even now, many Japanese products are designed around efficiency, simplicity, and doing more with less.

 

That philosophy helped shape modern consumer electronics around the world.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for a Data Center

Even when building a modern data center in Japan, one of the very first steps may be a traditional Jichinsai — a Shinto groundbreaking ceremony.

 

It may sound unusual to some people. A facility designed to support cloud computing, AI, high-speed networks, and massive amounts of digital data begins with a Shinto priest offering prayers, rice, salt, and sake to the land. It feels like ancient tradition and future technology existing side by side.

 

But in Japan, this is completely natural.

 

A Jichinsai is not simply a formal event. It is performed to pray for construction safety, stable operation of the facility, and the well-being of everyone involved in the project. Behind this tradition is the Japanese concept of Yakuyoke — protection from misfortune or unseen risks.

 

No matter how advanced technology becomes, people still cannot control everything. Earthquakes, accidents, unexpected failures, and human error will always exist. Japanese culture has long believed that it is important to prepare carefully, show humility, and respect both nature and the unknown.

 

I personally think there is something meaningful about that.

 

Even in the age of AI and cloud infrastructure, Japan still preserves traditions that remind people to pause, show respect, and hope for safety before starting something important. Technology and tradition are not seen as opposites in Japan. They simply coexist.

Do Japanese people truly believe Shinto deities protect the land and buildings?

 

I would say, for many Japanese people, the answer is probably “No” in a strict religious sense.

 

But at the same time, many Japanese people also think:
“We do not know if there is a god or spirit there, but just in case there is one, there is nothing wrong with showing respect.”

 

That is probably closer to the truth.