Servant leadership

The workplace in Japan is facing a crisis in leadership, and Christians may hold the key to solving it—servant leadership. This is what Shigeki Matsumura, a professor at Otsuma Women’s University in Tokyo believes. He thinks that missionaries could play an important role in modelling and propagating this style of leadership and, in doing so, transform the Japanese church and society.

The Japanese workforce tends to be highly hierarchical, with superiors giving orders to those beneath them. This top-down approach may have served Japan well during the post-war period of economic expansion, but now many workers feel disempowered and demotivated by it.

“When the bubble burst, we entered an era where everyone needed to start thinking for themselves,” noted Matsumura in an interview that I conducted with him.¹ “But lacking that habit, many people struggled to do that. Even today, most people still believe those at the top must do all the thinking and issue instructions to their subordinates.”

This traditional style of leadership doesn’t serve anyone very well. “Leaders end up struggling to come up with good solutions, while subordinates just do the work that’s assigned to them,” explains Matsumura.

Because subordinates usually have little input into decisions that affect their work, they can feel disenfranchised and lose motivation. “Their work is no longer enjoyable because they just do the tasks that they’re told to do,” says Matsumura.

Another way forward

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Servant leadership, where the primary goal of leaders is to serve others by sharing power and prioritizing their growth, offers an attractive form of leadership that helps to bring out the best in employees.

“The heart of servant leadership isn’t about giving orders or issuing commands,” says Matsumura. “It’s about being a leader who supports and serves others.”

In particular, it provides everyone a chance to express their thoughts and ideas. “Servant leadership allows everyone to voice their opinions,” Matsumura explains. “That way, everyone can enjoy working together.”

Matsumura believes that this style of leadership has the power to revitalize the Japanese workplace. “By becoming a servant and serving others, leaders can help their organizations become vibrant, and everyone can find meaning in their work,” says Matsumura. “I really believe servant leadership is essential in Japan.”

Matsumura is so committed to this vision that he has switched the focus of his research to servant leadership. He first encountered the concept in Robert Greenleaf’s book Servant Leadership six years ago and was strongly attracted to it. “That book gave me a vision for a horizontal society, which struck me as wonderful,” he recalls. “And so, I started researching servant leadership. I believe it’s crucial for everyone to understand servant leadership, which is why I’m continuing my research now.”

Good for business

Matsumoto isn’t alone in his belief that servant leadership could be highly beneficial for the workforce in Japan. The company Japan Intercultural Consulting (japanintercultural.com), which provides consultancy services and courses for foreigners working in Japan as well as Japanese working with foreigners, offers a course on servant leadership.²

In describing the course, the website notes that, whereas in the past many “demon bosses” (鬼上司 oni jōshi) in Japan believed in showing their subordinates tough love, today many Japanese companies and individual managers are now realizing that a management style focused solely on strictness isn’t very effective and can even be counterproductive.³

“Thus, a different approach is now needed—one that boosts employee motivation and elicits better performance,” it says. “Managers who practice servant leadership don’t just issue orders to their subordinates; they focus on how they can support them. Rather than controlling their subordinates, they adopt an attitude of serving them.”

“Servant leadership emphasizes support for team members and the creation of an environment in which they can perform their best, rather than a traditional command-and-control style,” it adds. “This approach is a terrific antidote for many of the challenges faced by organizations today, and gives leaders a new model for how to approach working with their teams.”

This isn’t just good for the employees; it’s good for business. The online introduction to the course notes: “Servant leadership has proven remarkable effects: improving company profits, boosting team performance, enhancing customer service, and increasing employee engagement. Using this method also reduces managerial stress.”

The company’s founder and CEO, Rochelle Kopp, strongly embraces the concept. In a video, she notes that servant leadership is a powerful counter to problems prevalent in Japanese companies due to their often very hierarchical “command and control” management styles.

A practical example

As an example of servant leadership in Japan, Matsumura cites Morio Ikeda, a Christian who served as president and CEO of Shiseido, a Japanese multinational beauty company, from 2001 to 2005.

Although Shiseido was performing well, sales quotas placed pressure on frontline staff. After becoming president, Ikeda shifted toward a more customer-centred approach. “Rather than imposing quotas from above, he encouraged employees to take initiative through their interactions with customers,” Matsumura explains. “He respected employees working on the frontline.”

While profits were affected in the short term, the reform aimed to strengthen long-term customer relationships. Matsumura argues that renewing servant leadership remains vital for Shiseido’s sustainable growth.

A vision for the church

But it won’t be easy for Japanese people to embrace servant leadership, since vertical hierarchies are so deeply engrained in the collective consciousness. What’s needed are real-life examples of servant leadership in action that can inspire people.

Unfortunately, the church in Japan hasn’t always been the best place to look for such examples. Most churches tend to be highly hierarchal, with pastors controlling everything and regular church members having little input into how a church is run. Matsumura has personal experience of this. “I used to attend a church that was incredibly hierarchical—a very strict place where the pastor dictated everything,” he says. “Everything was strictly enforced.”

Matsumura’s vision is for churches to be places where people can come and find relief from hierarchical structures. And in so doing, their hearts could become more open to the gospel. “Many people living in Japanese society feel pressured by Japan’s hierarchical society,” he says, “They come looking for a refuge from that. A church where they can find peace under God and can spend time with peace in their hearts. That’s the kind of church we should be aiming for.” And it is a reflection of Jesus, who didn’t come to be served, but to serve us (Mark 10:45).

Missionaries could play an important role in creating such communities. “Missionaries, especially those from the West, aren’t part of Japan’s hierarchical society,” says Matsumura. “They could model servant leadership and create a horizontal church. Japanese people exhausted by social pressures could then come to church and appreciate the difference.” The church could then offer rest to the weary in a similar way that Jesus does (Matt. 11:28–30). 

1. In the late 1980s the Japanese economy boomed, but it was not based on firm economic foundations and in the early 1990s it imploded.
2. “Impactful Services: Servant Leadership,” Japan Intercultural Consulting, https://japanintercultural.com/impactful-services/japanese-leadership-and-management-training/servant-leadership (accessed April 17, 2026).
3. チームの成果を高めるサーバントリーダーシップ, Japan Intercultural Consulting, https://elearning.japanintercultural.com/products/courses/servant_leadership (accessed April 17, 2026).