What new value emerges from the intersection of athletes and business?

Toshiro Hirose began playing rugby at age five and served as captain throughout high school, university, professional rugby, and the Japanese national team. He now leads "TEAM FAIR PLAY," an initiative where athletes and businesses collaborate to tackle social challenges.

In this article, we asked Hirose about the new possibilities emerging from the intersection of athletics and business, as well as his personal views on leadership and captaincy, to explore hints for achieving the SDGs.

 

After retiring, he began studying business to pursue "interesting things"

──Mr. Hirose, you retired from active play in 2016. How did you envision your career path afterward?

Hirose: I didn't have a clear vision, but I wanted to do something interesting in business in the future. To prepare for that, I enrolled in the Business Breakthrough Graduate School (*) in 2016 and started studying management. While taking it slow might have been fine, I thought putting pressure on myself would push me harder, so I decided to enroll without much hesitation.

My ability to take immediate action might stem from years of sports experience, where I truly grasped the importance of "experiencing things firsthand." If something feels right, "just try it first" is something I hold very dear.

In 2019, I founded a company called " HiRAKU." Its purpose is to apply the insights I gained through sports to the business world, aiming to develop talent and increase the number of people involved in sports. When starting the company, I wasn't primarily thinking, "I want to make money." Instead, I strongly felt, "Can't we all do something fun together to make sports more accessible and help people fall in love with it?"

At the same time, I also realized that without money, it would be difficult to sustain anything long-term. So, my current thinking is: first, let's try doing things we all find interesting. Then, hopefully, that will eventually lead to monetization.

Also, even during my active career, I vaguely wondered if I could contribute to solving social issues from the perspective of "athletes" or "sports." When I went to regional areas for training camps, I could physically feel the towns losing their vitality. This naturally led me to think about how to bring that energy back and what the real challenges facing these regions actually are.

Even now, I don't have a clearly defined goal. Instead, I feel like I discover what I want to do through interacting with various people, and new paths open up. While HiRAKU engages in many activities, we launched a new project called "TEAM FAIR PLAY" starting in 2021.

*Business Breakthrough University Graduate School: Japan's first online MBA graduate school, established in 2005. Renowned global management consultant Kenichi Ohmae serves as its president.

 

TEAM FAIR PLAY: Athletes × Business Aiming to Solve Social Issues

──Please tell us about "TEAM FAIR PLAY," the project you're currently working on.

Hirose: "TEAM FAIR PLAY" is a project where athletes and companies collaborate to solve social issues. It began with the desire to spread the concept of "fair play" in sports—respecting others and following the rules—as a common practice in society. We aim to tackle a wide range of areas, including environmental issues, food, and regional revitalization.

──Specifically, what kind of activities are you engaged in right now?
 
Hirose: We are currently working on a video project titled "FAIR PLAY TALK." I interview pioneers tackling social issues, and we publish these videos on YouTube.

For example, recently I spoke with Noriko Ishizaka, President of Ishizaka Industries, which focuses on recycling industrial waste. She shared insights on the fundamental challenges of waste management and the hurdles companies face when implementing SDGs.

Ms. Ishizaka was surprised that an athlete would come directly to hear her speak. When I visited a second time, she laughed and said, "Usually, people don't come twice!" (laughs). But she was pleased, invited me to subsequent events, and new relationships were formed.

We also spoke with other leaders, including Yuko Kuno—the only Japanese entrepreneur selected for Forbes' "50 Self-Made Women in America" list—and Takashi Takekawa, founder of the "Tohoku Fudo Marathon & Festival." We discussed the type of leadership society needs and how sports can contribute to Tohoku's recovery. We plan to continue releasing videos regularly, introducing "fair play activities we can do for the planet." I hope "FAIR PLAY TALK" sparks ideas for next steps and helps expand these efforts.

What struck me while speaking with everyone was how clearly each person holds a vision for the "world they want to realize." Their passion was palpable, and I felt there was much to learn from those with perspectives different from my own. Since everyone has cultivated expertise in their respective fields, I want to leverage that knowledge and collaborate to create something exciting together.

If everyone can take on their respective roles while moving forward with activities, it would be just like a sports team, wouldn't it? And when we engage in activities, we also want to prioritize "having fun." To entertain and engage those around us, we first need to be excited and enjoying ourselves!

Additionally, although progress has been slow due to the pandemic, we're planning initiatives with Marukome to tackle food waste. "TEAM FAIR PLAY" aims to grow our group of collaborators. Marukome was our first partner. Specifically, we plan to make miso soup using irregularly shaped vegetables discarded solely for cosmetic reasons, then serve it to attendees at sporting events.

We hope people will discover the appeal of miso—nutritious and good for you—and enjoy the interesting regional variations in taste. At events, we might leverage local flavors with a "Miso Soup Showdown" tasting competition, or serve sweets made with amazake, another fermented food... We're brainstorming all sorts of fun ideas. Through this initiative, we'd love for everyone to have fun while rethinking not just food waste, but also Japanese culture.

──It sounds like your activities will continue to expand. Within your current work, are there any challenges or difficulties you face, Mr. Hirose?

Hirose: The biggest challenge is establishing a monetization system to sustain "TEAM FAIR PLAY" as a business. While profit isn't our goal, we can't continue solely on our ideals and passion. We need to take on paid work, but finding that balance is incredibly difficult.

This is probably a struggle for companies tackling SDGs and social contribution activities too. However, in today's world, if you lean too heavily toward "making money" or choose the easy path, people will quickly see through it and think, "They're not really committed." I believe that money will start to follow once we overcome the tough parts.

I also find balancing "work" and "learning" difficult. For example, through our current collaboration with Marukome, I want to learn about "fermentation" and "Japanese culture," but finding time to study while working is quite tough. I'm still searching daily for the best balance.

──What do you think is necessary to overcome these challenges?

Hirose: When starting any project or activity, I believe the initial purpose—the "greater cause"—is crucial. For TEAM FAIR PLAY, our greater cause is spreading the spirit of "fair play" throughout society. If this is properly shared within the team and everyone truly understands and accepts it, then everyone will naturally focus first on how to achieve it and move forward together in the same direction.

How does one develop leadership and captaincy?

──Mr. Hirose, you've captained various teams for many years. Could you share your perspective on "leadership"?

Hirose: The most important thing in leadership is acting based on thinking about "how you want to be." To find that "how you want to be," it's essential to meet various people, communicate with them, and understand yourself. Once you see the core of your "axis," I think it's crucial to repeatedly go through trial and error to make that axis stronger.

It's also great when your actions naturally draw others in. If you act based on vague notions like "this is how society or common sense dictates" without a clear sense of who you want to be, those around you will likely feel you're "just putting on a show" or wonder "what do they really think?" Having an unshakable core makes people think, "I want to follow this person" or "I want to do something with this person."

When we talk about "leadership," it's often thought of as something only needed by those who want to be organizational leaders or stand at the top guiding others. But that's not the case. Even in a pair, if you can bring about change in the other person, you are already "exercising leadership." Leadership is truly something close at hand for everyone.

Lately, I've been thinking that beyond just leadership, the concept of "captainship" might also offer valuable insights. In sports, the "captain" is a position that must effectively bridge the gap between the coach and teammates. This mirrors the role of middle managers or on-field playing managers who work sandwiched between higher-ups and those they manage.

How can people in that difficult position work effectively? What should they prioritize? Perhaps my own experience of communicating effectively between the coach and teammates, carefully digesting and conveying both sides' perspectives, might offer some insight... Thinking I might be able to do something new, I'm currently challenging myself in this area.

──What is your ultimate goal, Mr. Hirose? Where do you want to arrive?

Hirose: Ultimately, I want to create opportunities for people to think about "how they themselves want to live" through various initiatives. Whether it's work or hobbies, I'd be happy if they could find something they love, something they feel they want to live doing.

And I also hope more people will take action thinking about the next generation of children and the future, rather than just focusing on "what's good for me right now." Learning new things or taking action might feel daunting, but I want to keep conveying that diving into various experiences and feeling them firsthand is actually interesting. If any companies, organizations, or individuals would like to join us as part of "TEAM FAIR PLAY," we'd be delighted if you could contact us.

TeamSDGs collaborates with various SDGs stakeholders to disseminate information about the SDGs and plan/develop solutions.

※Please also see Toshiro Hirose's article here:
Applying the "Just give it a try!" mindset learned from rugby to support athletes' careers ~ Toshiro Hirose, Representative Director, HiRAKU Inc.