slammer,
Its sad to hear that dealer's in japan only give u 1000km warranty. Its a bit absurd, especially when u r living far away from the shop.
There must be a way to deal with this issue. If they dun understand english, find someone who can translate for u. I'm sure they(the dealer) wont be so calculative over a few hundred extra kilometers. The message (complaint) MUST be delivered!!
But if u insist, like rinagi said, the meter panel is just plug and play. Just disconnect, nothing to do with ecu.
Good luck man..