Do we like Hidetoshi Nakata?
Our score: 8 out of 10. A clean record and real, long-running charity work, with a gap: he rarely speaks on social issues, so there is little to judge on harm.
Hidetoshi Nakata is the footballer who put Japan on the European map. Born in Kofu in 1977, he moved to Italy, joined Roma in 2000 and was part of the side that won the Scudetto. He then went on to Parma and played at three World Cups.
Then he walked away at 29, with a year left on his contract. His explanation was blunt: he said he realised “football had just become a big business” and that he was sad about it. That is a pretty rare move for a bloke at the top of his game.
The second act is where he gets interesting. He spent years travelling, then founded Japan Craft Sake Company in 2015 to help small breweries. It runs the Sakenomy app and a storage unit for sake and wine. He told the Sake Times he considers “what will benefit the breweries and the sake industry as a whole”.
On the harm test, there is honestly not much to report. We found no remarks about LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants, vaccines or the climate, and no slide into conspiracy or grievance. Nothing in the sources we read shows him working with people who push harm. Silence isn't a gold star, but there is nothing to mark against him.
The good stuff is real. After the 2006 World Cup he auctioned his match boots for Haiti earthquake relief, and Sky Sport Italia reported about 1.11 million euros, all donated. He has backed Special Olympics football and was named a Global Ambassador in 2014.
There is no recent controversy, only anniversary-style features ahead of the 2026 World Cup, one of them quoting him saying he was never a football fan. He is a gentle, quiet sort of hero. If you want someone to hold up as a vocal ally, he isn't it, but he passes both tests.