About PSPINC and Japan

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.

This is Kenichi Uchikura, and I would like to personally invite you to join us at PSPINC for a special networking event co-hosted with the Japan-America Society of Washington.

 

I am especially excited because my good friend Lewis Rudd, founder of Ezell’s Famous Chicken, will be speaking together with Rajah Anderson, Director of Marketing at Ezell’s. Ezell’s is one of Seattle’s true success stories, and I believe you will enjoy hearing their insights on business, marketing, and community building.

 

This will be a relaxed and friendly event with great opportunities to meet people, exchange ideas, and build new connections.

 

And yes… PSPINC will be ordering Ezell’s Famous Chicken for the event. 😉

 

📅 May 28, 2026
🕓 4:00 PM – 6:30 PM
📍 PSPINC
1402 140th Place N.E.
Bellevue, WA 98007

 

💲 Free for JASSW Members
💲 $10 for Non-Members

 

I hope to see you there. If you are interested, please call us at Call 1-800-232-3989 or 425-957-0808

Seattle Is Finally Getting National Attention

For many years, Seattle and Washington State stayed mostly out of the national political spotlight. New York and California usually attracted the attention. Seattle was simply known as a successful tech city surrounded by mountains, coffee, and rain.

 

That is changing fast.

 

I live and run my business in Bellevue, and recently I have started to feel the impact of new progressive taxes more directly than ever before. Washington State now has capital gains taxes, discussions about millionaire income taxes, expanded sales taxes on services, while still keeping the B&O tax on businesses. At the same time, Seattle politics continue moving further left.

 

Over the years, I have watched some companies quietly move from Seattle to Bellevue because of the business environment. Now I also see businesses and wealthy individuals considering moving out of Washington State entirely.

 

What concerns me is not politics itself. Every city has politics. My concern is whether the region is slowly making it harder for businesses to grow, hire people, and invest long term.

 

Seattle became successful because people built things here — technology, aerospace, global trade, and small businesses. That spirit created opportunity and jobs.

 

Now Seattle is getting national attention for a different reason. People around the country are watching to see how far progressive policies can go before businesses and investment begin looking elsewhere.

 

Whether people agree or disagree politically, Seattle is no longer invisible.

“Ame ni mo Makezu” — A Japanese Way of Thinking

 

One of the most famous poems in Japan is Ame ni mo Makezu (“Be Not Defeated by the Rain”) written by Kenji Miyazawa in 1931. Even today, many Japanese people grow up hearing or reading parts of this poem in school.

 

The poem is not really about success, money, or power. It is about endurance, humility, kindness, and responsibility toward others.

 

Miyazawa describes a person who does not complain about rain, wind, snow, or heat. A person who stays calm, helps others quietly, works hard without asking for praise, and lives simply.

 

In many ways, this poem reflects a traditional Japanese ideal.

 

Japan is a country that has faced earthquakes, typhoons, wars, shortages, and difficult living conditions throughout history. Because of this, endurance and cooperation became important cultural values. Rather than standing out loudly, people were often respected for quietly doing what needed to be done.

 

The famous line at the end says:

 

“I want to become that kind of person.”

 

That sentence is important. Miyazawa was not claiming he already was such a person. He was expressing an aspiration — a lifelong goal.

 

Even in modern Japan, many people still connect with this mindset:
Do your job.
Help others.
Do not complain too much.
Stay humble.
Keep going.

 

Of course, modern society is changing, and younger generations may think differently. But Ame ni mo Makezu still remains one of the poems that captures something deep inside Japanese culture and how many Japanese people once hoped to live.