Column: “Individuals vs. Organizations”
Individuals vs. Organizations

Mr. Takao Ogiya
Director General of APIC
Mr. Takao Ogiya

The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil has gained much global attention. It is believed thatpeople in all of the 230 countries/regions worldwide are closely following the event, and its
economic effects are estimated to reach approximately 7 trillion yen in Brazil alone.
As of this writing, the group stage is over. Unfortunately, Japan was unable to proceed tothe round of 16, but the final tournament is expected to feature even more exciting, heatedmatches.
Concerning football, we often hear comments about two types of power: individual and organizational. For instance, many support the view that while the Japanese football team excels in organizational power, the power of individual players needs to be enhanced. Some
commentators attribute the lack of the latter type of power to the national character of theJapanese people.
In relation to this, I would like to introduce a parable that illustrates the national charactersof various peoples. It goes like this: Imagine that a luxury cruise ship is sinking. Many people
have boarded a lifeboat, which is now excessively overloaded. To persuade some men to diveinto the sea, the most effective words are as follows:
To an American: You want to be a hero, don’t you?
To an Englishman: You are a true gentleman, aren’t you?
To a German: It’s a rule that you should dive in.
And to a Japanese: You are left behind. Everyone else has already dived into the sea.
This story indicates that the most effective way to urge Japanese people to do somethingis to say, “Everyone else has done, or is doing something.”
To understand this national mentality, we need to review the historical background. During
the Edo period (1603–1868), farmers—who, at the time, comprised over 80% of Japan’s population—belonged to a mura, or local community, which governed both their farming operations
and daily lives. The local community decided, among other things, procedures for agricultural operations and the allocation of agricultural water to respective paddy fields. It evendecided holidays and dates of village festivals, and also selected village representatives. Whilethe community was run autonomously by the villagers, it also served to restrict their activities and daily lives.

IP Friends Connections August 2014 No. 7ENISHI

17

Another influential system that has helped determine the Japanese mentality is that of theie, or the patriarchal family system. No matter which social class people belonged to within
the feudalistic four-class system—which was comprised of warriors, farmers, craftsmen andmerchants—people in the Edo period led their lives within the framework of their own respective families. This system placed utmost priority on sustaining and developing a familybusiness—and it was considered absolutely wrong for a family member to endanger this business in order to fulfill his or her own personal ambitions.
Over the 265 years of the Edo period, it was ensured that people could lead stable lives aslong as they observed the rules of the local community and the family system. It is understandable that Japanese people, who remained under these systems for centuries, did not
foster an individualistic mentality. More specifically, Japanese people have developed a tendency to avoid isolation from other members of organizations to which they belong, as wellas to worry about other people’s criticism, and behave modestly without expressing or developing their own opinions.
Such tendencies have positive elements as well as negative ones, however. First, Japanesepeople tend to be extremely sensitive toward—and pay meticulous consideration to—the feelings of other people. This attitude derives from the values that prioritize the needs of organizations rather than those of individuals. This also explains the low incidence of violent crimes
in Japan, and why only a few riots and other crimes occur even during great disasters andother emergency occasions.
In the context of advanced globalization, however, this mentality often inhibits Japanesepeople from responding adequately to people who have grown up in more individualistic cultures.
To win football matches at the FIFA World Cup, Japan’s team needs to develop the powerof individual players in addition to sustaining its excellent organizational power. To nurture
players’ abilities, the Japan’s football community is eager to transfer them to overseas teams.
I believe that this approach is valid, even though it did not lead to the results hoped for at the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Meanwhile, Japan’s women’s football team, known as “Nadeshiko Japan”, has won the world
championship—an achievement that is yet to be attained by the men’s team. During the Edo
period, men were subject to the aforementioned bondage of the local community and familysystems more closely than women, who were comparatively free from both. Remaining outside the organizational systems, women were able to observe conflicts between individualsand organizations more objectively than men, and developed a good sense of balance between
the two. Needless to say, Nadeshiko Japan’s victory was certainly the result of team members’
efforts and grueling physical training. At the same time, I also believe that one element of
their power is their excellent sense of balance between the power of individuals and that of
the organization.
In conclusion, I believe that we must seek an optimal balance today between the demandsof individuals and those of the organizations to which we belong. On one hand, we must forge
self-identities as independent individuals. Additionally, we must develop our own opinions and18ENISHIIP Friends Connections August 2014 No. 7

express them clearly in our own words. And above all, we must work to fulfill our own mission.
At the same time, however, we must also be aware of organizational needs. We must pay
meticulous attention to the needs of other people, wherever they may be, while respecting
their views—and must also, when necessary, sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the organizations we belong to. This, I believe, is essential for contemporary Japanese people living in thisglobal age.
It may sound quite challenging to achieve this vision. Let us believe in our own capacity,
however, and boldly step forward toward this goal.

IP Friends Connections August 2014 No. 7

ENISHI

19