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.
