Is there an English word or words close to Japanese “Sekoi”?
Solution 1:
money-grubbing
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/money-grubber
a person who is aggressively engaged in or preoccupied with making or saving money.
I think this has the right "small-minded" connotation.
Solution 2:
I'll suggest shabby (mentioned in passing by Papa Poule). From CDO:
shabby adjective (NOT FAIR)
C2 ............... not honourable or fair; unacceptable:
She spoke out about the shabby way the case had been handled.
The company's treatment of women was shabby.