Aichi Prefectural Police Chief after drinking with his subordinate for a long time is transferred for inappropriate behavior

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

署長が部下と長時間飲酒 泥酔させ不適切行動で異動 愛知県警

2023年9月15日 22時05分

愛知県の警察署の57歳の署長が15日未明、署長官舎で女性警察官を含む部下の複数の警察官と飲酒し、一部が泥酔状態となって110番通報される騒ぎがありました。

愛知県警察本部は、署長を15日付けで異動させ、今後、聞き取りを進めて詳しいいきさつを調べることにしています。

愛知県警によりますと、15日午前2時ごろ、港警察署の署長官舎で「女性警察官がもめごとにあっているようだ」という内容の110番通報がありました。

警察官が駆けつけたところ、署長官舎では、57歳の署長と、部下の複数の警察官が飲酒をして、一部が泥酔状態だったということです。

署長たちは14日の午後6時ごろから港区内の飲食店で飲食をし、午後11時半ごろからは、署長と、20代と40代の男性警察官、それに、20代の女性警察官の4人で署長官舎に移動し、飲酒を続けていたということです。

県警は、部下の複数の警察官が15日は勤務だったにもかかわらず、長時間にわたって一緒に飲酒し、泥酔させたことは不適切な行動だとして、15日付けで署長を異動させました。

今後、聞き取りを進め、詳しいいきさつを調べることにしています。

Translation

In the early hours of the 15th, a 57-year-old chief of a police station in Aichi Prefecture drank alcohol with several subordinate police officers at his office, including a female police officer; some of them became so drunk that there was a commotion and someone called 110.

The Aichi Prefectural Police Headquarters transferred the chief as of the 15th, and planned to continue conducting interviews to find out more details.

According to the Aichi Prefectural Police, a 110 call was received at around 2 a.m. on the 15th stating “it seems that a female police officer was in trouble” at the chief's official residence of the Harbour Police Station.

When police officers arrived, they found that the 57-year-old police chief and several of his subordinate officers had been drinking alcohol, some of them were said to be in a drunken state.

The chief and others ate at a restaurant in Harbor Ward from around 6pm on the 14th, and from around 11:30pm, the chief with two male police officers respectively in their 20s and 40s, and a female police officer in her 20s, in total four officers moved to the chief's office to continue drinking alcohol.

The prefectural police department transferred the police chief on the 15th, as it was an inappropriate behavior to drink together with multiple police officers under his command for a long period of time on the 15th, causing them to become drunk even though they were on duty.

After that, interviews would continue be conducted to find out more details.

              So, a chief of a police station was found drinking alcohol with several subordinate police officers, including a female police officer, while on duty. This is quite surprising to me because in my mind Japanese police are usually following strict discipline.