Forensic Accounting and the Japanese Police

[xicarus_complex]

I've lurked for awhile, but this is my first time asking a question, so here goes =)!

Search Terms: I've looked through relevant tags and searched "forensic accountants in Japan", "Japanese fraud squad", "Japanese police dress code", and pretty much every variation thereof =/. I've learned a bit about the profession, at least in North America and

Comments

[imayb1]

I'm not very familiar with the job of a forensic accountant, so I can't speak to job duties and responsibilities, or if her work place would be different from non-specialized police officers'.

I can tell you she would definitely wear a uniform. Japanese love uniforms for nearly all professions and most especially for government jobs. If she is the equivalent of a detective, then she would be expected to wear a formal skirt suit. Any uniform would also involve a skirt. Note that Japanese police officers do not eat (or drink) in public while in uniform; it's considered unprofessional. She would be expected to work a lot of hours-- until the job is done. Japanese don't really follow a 40-hour work week. 60 is more common

[xicarus_complex]

Thank you very much for addressing so many of my questions! I posted a response yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have gone through =/. In any case, I hope you don't mind a couple follow-up questions. What unflattering customs and terms is Rei likely to face? Do you think the belief that she only got the job because of her father would make her coworkers contemptuous of her or respectful towards her? Thanks again for all your help and I hope you have a wonderful day~!

[imayb1]

I'm glad the information has been helpful. :)

I think co-workers would be a bit jealous of her, assuming she got an 'easy in' when they had to work for it. It's possible she could catch trouble coming and going, though... Whatever she does will reflect on her father. If she does well, then she's more 'manly' than a daughter should be and her father was too indulgent and didn't crack down on her with proper discipline. If she doesn't do well, then her father's child is a failure and he should never have 'allowed' her to try to compete in a man's job when she's obviously not suited to handling it.

As for unflattering customs and terms, one that comes to mind is carnivore woman. Another is loser dog. There's another that means basically the same thing as "old maid" but I don't recall it and thus, can't find the reference

[epikaste]

Belatedly, could the old maid equivalent you remember be the 'Christmas Cake' saying?

[lilacsigil]

Japan really has two career tracks - the male track (which is full-on workaholic mode, 60-100 hours a week plus socialisation after hours) or the female track (part-time to 40 hours, lower pay, support positions, expected to leave to get married). There are women on the male career track and they are expected to match the men in every way, which is not such a problem if you don't want to get married or have kids - but they are also being out-of-place and possibly even "unnatural". Standing out is not a good thing. It will certainly help that her father is a well-known politician (she won't need to name-drop but she won't be able to hide it, as family connections are very important) - but it will only really help her get her foot in the door. It won't help her day-to-day. Some careers, particularly teaching, are not so gender-divided, but most are. She'll be considered by most (especially older men) to be either frigid/unnatural or husband-shopping and taking up a job that could go to a man. This pattern is slowly breaking down (

[xicarus_complex]

Thank you so much! I knew sexism was an issue, but I didn't realize just how deeply entrenched it was, so I really appreciate all this information and I hope you don't mind if I ask a few follow-up questions. Generally speaking, how would a woman get started on the male track? Is it simply a matter of applying for traditionally masculine positions and proving yourself once you have them? What sort of discrimination would she face on a day-to-day basis? Would she be expected or even allowed to participate in socialization after hours because, though she is on the male track, it doesn't seem likely that her coworkers would appreciate her presence very much? My last is probably a person-to-person question, but how does one (effectively) deal with that sort of treatment? Rei isn't exactly the type to grin and bear it, but she's calm enough and accustomed enough to charges of frigidity that she probably could, especially if it there were long-term advantages, since she doesn't plan to marry and her only hope of escape is a

[lilacsigil]

She would need to get into a good university first, and make connections there. After that, she needs to apply for traditionally male positions and excel at them. She will absolutely be required to socialise after-hours, including drinking, because it's part of the job. Fitting in is going to be even more important for her than it is for a regular police officer

[xicarus_complex]

Thank you! I didn't even think about looking for stories from the sixties/seventies west, but that's a great idea and I didn't know foreign companies tended to require overseas travel, which would definitely be an issue for Rei, as she's an only child, with a grandfather and a shrine that she'd hate to leave behind, even for a few weeks. Your insight has really been invaluable and I can't thank you enough for all the time and effort you've put into it; you've given me a lot to work with. Thanks again~!

[not_quite_queen]

I'm not really going to be helpful here...I just wanted to say that your userpic is awesome! ^_^ It made me laugh, and I sorely needed to laugh.

[xicarus_complex]

Haha, thank you! I'm rather fond of it myself and, henceforth, I'll be able to say that grammar not only saves lives, it induces laughter, too =D.

[sailorhathor]

I just had a small thing to add to the great comments above - I did a report on doing business with the Japanese in college and I learned a bit about the socializing aspect. The Japanese consider it rude and weird not to socialize with them after work. Besides the drinking, karaoke is also very important. Even if you can't sing or you're shy, you MUST participate. It shows people that you want to be part of the gang. I don't think that will be such a problem for Rei after that one SM R ep where she sang on stage, but you could definitely have fun with it.

I also wanted an excuse to use this icon. ;)

[xicarus_complex]

Thank you =D! Do you know how often employees meet after work? Is it on a daily basis, a weekly one, or primarily for special occasions? In the roleplay, Rei is going to reunite with the other senshi after five years of rather sporadic contact and complete peace, so she wouldn't be able to go out with her coworkers, if an invitation were extended every night. I assume that's not the case, but I'd like to be sure^^;.

When I write Rei, I combine aspects of the anime and manga, so karaoke would probably make her squirm a bit =P; that's a fantastic suggestion xD. Thanks again!

Aw, your icon is supercuute :3! Is it, by chance, gankable?

[sailorhathor]

For how often co-workers meet after work, it really depends on the company/office mentality. The stereotype is that middle aged salarymen meet every night. But other offices meet just a few times a week, especially for specific occasions, and the occasions can be numerous. Someone leaves, goodbye party! A new person replaces them, welcome party! It's considered pretty important to attend them, too. Otherwise, your boss might think you don't want to fit in at work/aren't fully dedicated to your job

[xicarus_complex]

Thank you! I've read the Wikipedia article, but as some of my other sources implied that after-work get-togethers took place every night, I figured I'd better consult an expert, as Wikipedia has occasionally been known to publish inaccurate information :3