It depends on how one looks at it. Since he gave three years of his life to it, I would be inclined to say that the sell price was low, especially considering his experience in the space. On the other hand, perhaps he has a job lined up already and this was simply a bit of housecleaning to get him back to the less stress role of working for someone else.
All that said, many people start sites, work on them for years and get 'no' payout, so him getting 'anything' could be seen as landing on the up side of what is usually a sad entrepreneur story.
I live in Japan, have traveled widely throughout the country, and I would disagree with your notion that $11 gets you more in another part of Japan outside of Tokyo. Unlike the U.S., where prices can vary widely when you leave big cities, in Japan prices are pretty much consistent throughout most of the country. The only real cost benefit you get from not living in Tokyo is the occasional cheaper apartment rent.
In general wages in Tokyo for all manner of jobs is quite low, this is in stark contrast to the country's rich, tech-forward image.
No need to lie, just use the company name instead of the royal we. Further, if you need to get more detailed and/ or personal, create a separate blog post on your site as a "message from the founder." In the end no one really cares if they like your site. Back when Pud ran f-ckedcompany.com, a very popular web 1.0 site, everyone assumed he ran it alone, it had no negative effect I could discern. Don't sweat it!
There's comment made on the site under the post which I think is the most accurate, concise, spot on explanation of the difference between the Japanese market and the American market. Here it is:"Could Japan be a secret counter-example to the worldview that sees prosperity coming only from high growth? Maybe the Japanese have in many ways decided that they don't want high growth lives?"
I say the answer to that likely rhetorical question is YES. I've been traveling to Japan for business for 10 years and I think this difference in approach is the chief reason why most American firms never really 'get' Japan. Their business motives and market DNA are fundamentally different from America's devotion to growth and scale. In Japan it's not about growth, it's about consistency and quality, often even to the detriment of the business.
I think that's also why, in terms of tech startups, Korea & China & Singapore will ultimately leave Japan behind.