No.0143：Dictatorship - The Leader Who Lost His Mirror
October 31,2025
 
A while ago, I came across the term “Seven Ministers of Dissent” in the morning edition of the Nikkei. It refers to seven subordinates who are unafraid to speak their minds, even to their ruler. The idea is that if a king has seven such ministers, no matter how incompetent he may be, his throne will remain secure.
 
Recently, Japan’s prime minister changed. As the nation’s first female prime minister, she has drawn enormous attention and enjoys strong approval ratings. Yet when I look at her cabinet lineup, I see it filled with those who supported her rise to power - an exercise in rewarding loyalty. It reminds me of how sycophants swarm around a promising rising star in the workplace. And to make matters worse, some close “friends” who share her political views have been granted prominent posts despite their prior scandals.
 
Talking politics with passion tends to get you branded as an old man, so I hesitate - but having lived over fifty years and seen my share of corporate politics, I can’t help but be concerned. What I see in this reshuffled administration feels far removed from the idea of “Seven Ministers of Dissent.” Instead, it’s a return to a homogeneous, outdated, and regrettably familiar era.
 
In the Essentials of Governance (Zhenguan Zhengyao), the Chinese Tang emperor Taizong - often considered the model of enlightened leadership - warned that when a ruler refuses to listen to others and his ministers flatter rather than challenge him, the nation is doomed. Yet even now, the culture of deference remains deeply rooted in politics, bureaucracy, and corporations alike - a far cry from that ideal. A world where leaders and followers act with equal courage and integrity is, perhaps, as rare as a planetary alignment.
 
“If you use bronze as a mirror, you can see your appearance.
If you use history as a mirror, you can understand the rise and fall of nations.
If you use people as a mirror, you can know your own faults.”
- Emperor Taizong, Zhenguan Zhengyao
 
No one is infallible. That’s why a true leader gathers diverse and candid opinions before making final decisions. That is the kind of leadership I admire. But there are also those who believe they can’t possibly be wrong - and therefore see no need for advice. Such people seem less like visionaries and more like machines - spinning tirelessly, flawlessly, on a factory line that never stops - repeating the past in blind devotion to precedent.
 
Yet many of the once “ironclad common sense” beliefs they so confidently uphold are now being overturned. The rapid advance of AI and digital transformation is fundamentally reshaping human roles and dismantling long-held assumptions. Just as Shohei Ohtani shattered baseball’s “common sense” by excelling as both pitcher and hitter - defying the old men who insisted he must choose one - so too must today’s leaders keep renewing themselves by listening humbly to younger generations. It’s the only way to avoid becoming obsolete.
 
“When the upstream is rigid, the downstream suffers.”
 
I wish to have as many people as possible who dare to tell me the inconvenient truths I’d rather not hear. Most people don’t offer such advice - they don’t want conflict, rejection, or emotional wounds. More often, they quietly laugh at others’ flaws from the shadows. So when someone takes the risk to speak those painful words, I want to receive them objectively and add them to my daily “Let’s Try This” list - a tool for self-reflection and improvement.
 
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”
- Peter Drucker
 
Do you have people around you who serve as your mirror?
And perhaps more importantly - are you being someone else’s mirror?