> The article does mention Hepburn to be fair, but then it makes it sound like the proposed changes are something new and not the de facto standard.

Well, it's not the de facto standard, since there are differences, for instance:

> The revision plan allows for not using any diacritic for a long vowel, as in “judo,” or adding “h,” as in “Ohtani” for the Los Angeles Dodgers star. Both are widely used internationally.