Japan shared video of P-1 supposedly lit up by South Korean warship's fire control radar

Regarding the incident of an ROK naval vessel directing its fire-control radar at an MSDF patrol aircraft

Something new... I believe this is Japan's first use of social media to try and influence international opinion to be on its side.

BTW, 971 might not have replied on 121.5 MHz because she might not have been guarding on that frequency as she was not operating aircraft. And while the P-1 was well clear of 971... flying so near a warship is still poor manners. Observing minimum safety distances doesn't necessarily mean it is diplomatically sound.

And when the next Chinese aircraft flies this close to a JMSDF ship next time... very hard for Japan to complain with this video plain out in the open for everyone to see.

Fast PCB prototyping

I am currently working on a 3D printer control board based on the ESP32.

Github: MRR_ESP_3DP

So I sent v0.6 of the board to JLCPCB, a PCB manufacturer in China, to take advantage of their special offer: USD2.00 for 10 pieces of PCB, as long as the PCB measures 100mm by 100mm or less. Really cheap, considering that most other Chinese manufacturers would charge at least USD5.00 for something similar.

I placed the order on 19 December, and received the product on 26 December! Wow! One week! And I choose the cheapest delivery option (S.F. Express).

The board was  designed using EasyEDA, which allows you to choose parts from LCSC (a Chinese components seller). And LCSC allows you to combine shipping with JLCPCB, which means that when I order those components from LCSC, they were also delivered together with the PCBs.

Now, the only thing left is to wait... because while most of the components are here, I am still waiting for my MOSFETs, bought on Aliexpress, to arrive. And those are taking the slow route here.

Anyway, for those who are interested, you can leave me your comments about the board here or in the comments section for this post.

65% in Japan against new immigration bill?

65% against Diet passage of foreign workers’ bill: Kyodo News poll

Japan has a shrinking population. It has an aging population. It is a no-brainer that it needs more young people to work and support the old and give them care. So trying to give reasons, whatever they may be, to stave off immigration is really detrimental to Japan's future.

The existing visa for foreign trainees does not really facilitate technology transfer to foreign countries. It is just being exploited as a workaround for companies to hire cheap foreign labour. Having a more comprehensive immigration bill is actually in the interest of these foreign workers, not against them. It is not morally right to bring in cheap labour, then turn them away after 5 years. If they have contributed to Japanese society, and can continue to contribute, there is no reason to send them home. The Japanese people may want Japan to stay Japanese, but maybe it is time to rethink what "Japanese" means. Is it about blood, ethnicity, and race? Is it about geographical boundaries? Or is it about an ideal held by a group of people?

Countries and people worry about immigration usually because they have a lack of identity. If they have a strong and well-defined identity, then immigration does not erode it; instead, it brings in diverse strengths to make it stronger.

Development of basic 3D printer control board based on the ESP32 microcontroller

This is a very basic 3D printer control board based on the ESP32.
MRR ESP 3DP

The main design considerations:
- Use only the ESP32, without any GPIO expansions.
- Fit within 100mm by 100mm of PCB space, so that cheap PCB fabrication services can be used for prototyping.
- Allow the use of TMC2130 and TMC2208 stepper motor drivers.
- Allow a heat bed current of up to 20A (theoretically, since I don't think it is really safe to be pushing so much current through a board).
- Allow 24V electronics (which means capacitors and mosfets must be rated for at least 24V).
- Have an AUX1 connector for MKS TFT32 or similar host, since the ESP32 does not have enough pins to support the Reprap LCD controllers (LCD2004 or LCD12864).

Well, if there are any comments, opinions, etc., please feel free to leave a comment here, or in the issues page for this.

Note: Pre-launch version now available here. Some information on this has been updated here.

赏歌习字感慨万分

为何总在脑海里，
无法忘去，
无法放弃？
人生几何，
独自忧愁又有何意思？
明知走出去，
大好世界在等待，
却为何无法迈出那一步？
人生如梦，
全是一场空。
只怕梦醒后，
仍然一切空。

The on-going Nissan-Ghosn struggle

Ghosn’s legal woes highlight governance failings in Japan

"How do you do this without other people being complicit?"

Good question. The thing is, as with all corporate reports issued by major corporations, the report itself is a collective work, taking months to put together, and being approved by the Board of Directors before it is released. You would think that those on the Board would have noticed if there was anything unusual. Given the high salary they were paying Ghosn, you would think they would have noticed if that was under reported. And it is not just one report; it has been on-going for a while. Unless the entire board is a rubber stamp that approves anything put before it, it just doesn't make sense that no one pointed this out before, until now, when Ghosn is starting to work on a merger between Renault and Nissan.

"Japanese prosecutors say Ghosn and another Nissan executive, Greg Kelly, an American suspected of collaborating with him, were arrested because they are considered flight risks."

Bravo. And how is a foreigner as famous as Ghosn going to ever leave Japan without anyone noticing? Also, Kelly isn't really your Japanese ojisan who can easily mix into the crowd and leave the country. This just sounds more like Tokyo investigators trying to gain some media attention by arresting a prominent person. Well, this could backfire since it will draw unnecessary comparison to similar cases in the past, where most (Japanese) bosses were not thrown into detention. And those people can easily disappear; they are your Japanese ojisan.

Nissan reporting this major malpractice only now undermines Nissan as a company. If they can't even sort out their own house, how can we be sure they are doing the necessary to ensure that the cars they produce meet the safety standards required by law? Financial governance and safety governance are the same thing; it is a reflection of the management's commitment to adhering to the laws and regulations in place. The Board should be fired if they cannot uphold governance and maintain proper oversight over all activities within the company.

Ghosn's treatment, being thrown into detention, highlights the discrimination of the legal system in Japan, which treats foreigners harsher compare to Japanese counterparts. It undermines Japan's right to criticise other countries on human rights if they can't even sort that one out within Japan itself. North Korea detains foreigners. China detain foreigners. Japan can criticise them all Japan wants, but now Japan is going to earn itself a place close to North Korea and China for detaining foreigners without trial.

It looks good on TV, looks cool to have men in black suits carrying boxes of documents out of one's house or office, as if investigators are doing their jobs. But if you don't treat them equally, that cool image will always be tainted with one of bias.