That update is the best thing they ever done. I put in an order with howa yesterday for 6 22 arcs. They will ship in February.Zero problems.
Also, Howa has updated the latch that drops the magazine. It's recessed now and can't be easily bumped. Evidently the previous generations of Howa Minis had an exposed latch that made it easy to accidently drop the mag in the field.