To Quarrel or Debate, That is the Question

このページを日本語で読む

JAPAN Forward launched its "Ignite" series of English essays to directly share the voices of students in Japan with their global peers. Shuto Nakamura is one such high school student vaulting us beyond our imagined limits. An avid debater, he explains how, in a humbling defeat, he learned the "true art of listening." Debate, he says, is not about using words for rebuttal, but about building a bridge to understand another's reality. It begins "with the courageous act of truly wanting to understand."

Nakamura's contribution is the 24th winning essay in the series, Ignite. Written in English, it was recognized by the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC) and additionally by the IIBC Alumni Association as worthy of special recognition. Can we learn to apply his insights to improve understanding in a world often filled with demands and bluster? Let's listen.

Twenty-fourth in the Series, 'Ignite'

Shuto Nakamura, Winner of the 2025 IIBC Special Recognition Award and the 2025 Alumni Award for his English Language Essay

The judge's final word echoed in the silent room: "The winner is… the affirmative side." We lost. The match that would have sent us to the tournament was over. Yet, in that moment of defeat, I felt not the sting of disappointment, but an electrifying connection to the very rivals who had just bested us. We had thrown every ounce of our logic and passion at each other, and in the aftermath, what remained was not bitterness, but a profound, shared respect. This was not a quarrel. This was debate.

Many people imagine debate as a civilized form of fighting, but they often aren't right. It is not about fighting at all; it is about a desperate attempt to understand. To debate a topic like "green energy," for instance, is not merely to list facts and figures. It is to force yourself into the shoes of an environmental activist watching glaciers melt, and simultaneously into the worn-out boots of a coal miner whose job is the only thing feeding his family.

'Truth is Not Only One'

I remember arguing fiercely for carbon taxes, and as my logic cornered my opponent, I felt a surge of victory. But that night, I thought of the imaginary miner I had rendered jobless.

My argument was sound, my logic impeccable, but my heart ached with a strange sense of guilt. The world, I realized, was not a clean syllogism of right and wrong. It was a messy, complex, and, also, beautiful tapestry of conflicting truths. Truth is not only one. My world didn't just expand with new knowledge; it deepened with the weight of human complexity.

This lesson was hard-won. When I first started debate, I was a child wielding words and evidence like knives. I saw opponents not as people, but as arguments to be dismantled. My goal was just to listen only for their weaknesses, to find the cracks in their logic and devastate them. I was often successful, but I was never connecting. When I lost a match, I often blamed opponents or even judges.

The turning point came in a devastating loss against a team from another high school. I was selfish and naive. They didn't just refute my points; they respectfully took them and gently showed me a much larger picture I hadn't seen. I was silenced not by aggression, but by their profound understanding.

Learning the Art of Listening

In that humbling defeat, I learned the true art of listening: not as a tool for rebuttal, but as a bridge to another's reality. Connecting our hearts doesn't begin with speaking; it begins with the courageous act of truly wanting to understand.

In the end, I believe the most meaningful journeys are not measured in kilometers. While a plane ticket can show you a different part of the world, a willingness to engage in structured, respectful dialogue can show you a different world within another person. Emotional arguments build walls that imprison us in our own perspectives. But debate, in its ideal form, provides the tools to build a bridge — a bridge built of logic, empathy, and a shared set of rules.

To truly connect our hearts and expand our world, we don't need to cross oceans. We just need the courage to cross the space between ourselves and another, to listen, and to see the world, for a moment, through someone else's eyes. This journey of understanding has no final destination; it is a path I have only just begun to walk. If you're looking to take a similar first step — to build your own bridges — I can definitely recommend a place to start.

Now, did I win this debate?

About the Author:

Shuto Nakamura was a second-year student at Kansai Soka High School in Osaka when he contributed this essay in 2025. Explaining his choice of topic, he commented: "In this essay, I wrote about how the communication power of debate has changed me. I hope that it will help you learn a little about the communicative power of debate, or that it will inspire you to take up debate." His essay won both the IIBC Essay Special Recognition Award and the Alumni Award for that year. Upon receiving the awards, he shared the following remarks:

"I am truly honored to receive the Special Award and Alumni Special Award.

"Ever since I started debating in my first year of high school, debating has occupied a significant part of who I am. I wrote this essay with the hope that as many people as possible would gain a deeper understanding of debate. Therefore, I am extremely pleased that it has been recognized in this way. I would like to express my gratitude to my teachers who guided me and to all the judges."

Author: Shuto Nakamura, Student

Kansai Soka High School, Osaka Prefecture

このページを日本語で読む