アメリカ人経営者が語るビジネス・シーン

Sumo grand champion Asashoryu's sudden retirement was a real

downer for me, as it reminded me of many things I don't

particularly like about Japan. As a foreign rikishi, he surely

had to go through a lot before achieving the success he did. I

can easily imagine his loneliness during those long days of

training, his frustrations at not easily understanding or

being understood by his colleagues and peers, his bewilderment

that certain things that he considered unimportant were seemingly 

blown out of proportion by everyone around him...

Of course, it would be an overstatement to say that Asashoryu

Was "driven out"of sumo by some shadowy cabal that can't stand

the idea that for many years the top ranks of sumo have been

dominated by non-Japanese wrestlers. His behavior has long been

controversial here, and as a matter of principle it is important

for any foreign guest in any country to play by the law of the

land – so in large part his stepping down was just the logical

result of his earlier actions.

But coming from the US, where our famous athletes REALLY know

how to get in trouble - from shooting themselves in the leg at a

nightclub and brandishing firearms in the clubhouse pre-game

locker room to jumping into the stands to fight fans on a semi-

regular basis - Asashoryu's transgressions seem tame at best. At

the end of the day, the expectations of society became too heavy

for him, so he stepped down just when his rivalry with Hakuho was

heating up and sumo was developing a compelling storyline that

might have helped revitalize the sport.

From my own perspective, this reminds me of cases I see in Japan

business too often. An established group is threatened with a 

looming crisis (as with the sumo world, this can often be

summarized as "shrinking domestic business"). They have some

emerging yet controversial potential strength at hand (an

exciting yet scandal-prone yokozuna, a technology proven in

the local market yet untested overseas, or the untapped

resources of young women that could be used to develop new-

look business models in their company). But leveraging this

new strength would require wholesale changes in their group or

corporate culture and leadership styles. Instead of making a

move, they dither and dather, trying to hold on to the status

quo and praying for the emergence of the next Takanohana /

Wakanohana Japanese-born sumo pair, a rebound in the yen-dollar

exchange rate, the next blockbuster drug, or whatever other

magic they might need. Of course, that doesn't come to pass,

and by then that potential strength is long gone. 

Think JAL's top management with blinders on over the last decade.

Think Japanese government and industry's need for innovative

entrepreneurship and the way they absolutely decimated any

possibility that risk-taking would improve by excoriating

Horiemon & Livedoor several years ago. Think any pharma company

that clearly recognizes that young female MR's are outstanding

performers but haven't made the real effort needed to give them

a career path and retain them past the age of 30 (less than 1%

of the sales managers I meet in that industry here are women). 

I really hope that Japan as a whole will find a way to avoid a

fast slide into an age of irrelevance. Many people just write

this type of problem off to the seniority system and expect that

things will do a 180 once the "dankai" generation filters out

of action through age attrition. But I think there is more to

it than that. As a whole, the culture needs to adapt to better

support outliers like Asashoryu, problematic as they might be.

All in all he did a really good job at fitting in. His Japanese

is excellent. His interviews were a bit edgy, but never

ridiculous. His dohyo entrances were done with dignity and

style, even as his pre-bout preparation was borderline manic.

More than anything, he performed, and people appreciated what

He had to offer. It is a shame that they couldn't find a way to

keep him where he belongs – in the dohyo.