CODE IN TOKYO

Is "They Did Their Best" Really Enough? Why Sergio Echigo's Criticism Hits a Nerve

Japan Keeps Running Into the Same Wall

Japan’s national team lost in the first knockout round of the World Cup.

They can get through the group stage.

But the next step remains difficult.

For nearly 20 years, Japan has continued to run into the wall of being “one step away.”

After a match like this, social media and television are filled with familiar phrases.

“They did their best.”

“Thank you for the inspiration.”

“Let’s use this experience next time.”

I do not think these words are wrong.

The players truly worked hard.

But there is always one person who throws cold water on that atmosphere.

Sergio Echigo.

As a Brazilian-Japanese football commentator who knows both Japanese and Brazilian football culture, he has always been strict.

To summarize his view, it is something like this:

“In the world of competition, losing brings criticism. Kindness alone does not make a team stronger.”

I think there is some truth in this.

Japan Often Values Effort Itself

Japanese culture has a strong tendency to value the fact that someone tried hard.

Of course, effort is important.

But in the world of competition, effort itself is not what gets evaluated.

Results are.

This is not limited to sports.

Think about a sales organization.

One salesperson visits customers every day, works sincerely, and puts in visible effort.

Another salesperson cuts corners from time to time but works efficiently.

Yet the second person produces far higher sales.

If you were the manager, which person would you evaluate more highly?

To make the question harsher, what if you had to lay off one of them?

Many Japanese people would hesitate.

If the hardworking salesperson had children and a mortgage, the decision would feel even harder.

Many people would think:

“We cannot judge only by results.”

This kind of humane thinking is also part of what makes Japanese society livable.

People are not easily abandoned when they are struggling.

People read the room.

People help each other.

That is one reason Japan has become a relatively safe and comfortable country to live in.

I do not want to deny that value.

Competition Outside Japan Works Differently

But when that same value system is brought directly into global competition, the story changes.

The world is results-driven.

People are not evaluated because they tried hard.

They are evaluated because they produced results.

In that environment, effort is only the starting point.

In the past, Japan surprised the world by having everyone work hard together.

Japan produced large volumes of affordable, high-quality products.

It accumulated improvements on the factory floor.

It competed with the world through teamwork.

In that era, Japan’s strengths were real.

But today’s world is different.

AI makes this especially clear.

One genius, or a small team of exceptional people, can change a global market.

Huge value becomes concentrated in a small number of companies and individuals.

The old game of “if everyone works hard together, we can win” is no longer enough.

Kindness and Competition Need Different Standards

That is why I wonder whether Japan’s national team, Japanese companies, and the Japanese economy can cross the next wall while being satisfied with “they did their best.”

I do not want Japan to become a society of pure results-driven competition like the United States.

Kindness and mutual support are part of Japan’s strengths.

But in arenas where the goal is to become number one in the world, Sergio Echigo’s strictness may also be necessary.

Kindness can help people.

But kindness alone does not win against the world.

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