Kanagawa policewomen get tips on manners, makeup

Sweet mother, Japan is so behind the times!

I know Japan is firmly stuck in '50's gender roles and whatnot, but shouldn't all of these police officers be judged and trained equally? Or are there different set of rules for the ladies and the gents? Do the boys also get trained how best to pluck their eyebrows and apply face cream?

The need for grown adults in positions to serve and protect to be taught about makeup and manners is about as depressing as salarymen needing to be told when to wear a suit and when to wear cool biz.

And the men? On washing and brushing teeth and not looking up civilian minors' skirts and so on?

Oh, FFS. This is asinine.

Now, here's what I'm truly curious about. What precisely is the advice being given?

It's simple. They are policewomen not fashion models. No makeup and be nice!

Sweet mother, Japan is so behind the times!

Kanagawa is so behind the times. The rule where my daughter works is strictly No Make-Up while on duty.

this course is almost certainly about LIMITING makeup use while on duty to avoid having uniformed pandas strolling the streets.

Would that this were true. This seminar was held in Kanagawa last May as well, and new female recruits were put through a class on how to apply foundation, eyeliner, and eyebrow makeup in a manner that created a more "natural" look, and conveyed a more responsibile, trustworthy presence. "Less" makeup was not the order of the day. Granted, there's nothing inherently wrong with giving tips on how to apply makeup in an appealing way for women who insist upon wearing it. But then again, the entire premise behind why women "need" to wear makeup is suspect. Women wear makeup to "look better." Men don't. That's it in a nutshell. And it's inherently demeaning and sexist.

This seminar not only teaches the finer points of makeup application, but also how to wash one's clothes properly and keep one's hair clean and presentable.

Now, call me crazy, but the selection process for becoming a police officer is rather rigorous, and the young people who set upon this career possess a number of qualities that including emotional maturity and personal discipline. Being taught as an adult how to groom oneself is not only uttery baffling, but also insulting. Especially when it's aimed at the women recruit alone.

Which begs the question: It it really all about "less-is-more," as you suggest, or more about looking "pretty?"

Additionally, being polite in Japanese isn't just adding "please" to the end of every bark as it is in English, so it might actually warrant training.

No, being polite in Japanese is indeed a lot more than slapping "onegaishimasu" at the end of every request. Keigo is a challenging and fickle beast, and new employees foro deparment stores are put through lengendarily touch courses on the proper usage of keogo. But cops are not department store sales clerks.

Besides, if it's so important to know not only how to use keigo properly, but also bow properly *(as is also being taught at the seminar)* in the course of exercising one's duties as a police officer, then why are only the women recruits being put through this obnoxious "training"? Why are male recruits not required to exercise politenessMale recruits don't need to know politeness or how to bow respectfully?

The makeup tips, the bowing advice, the dressing suggestions, the ins and outs of bowing -- all for female recruits alone can bring even the most casual observer to but one conclusion: Women in Japanese society are still , even in a day and age when public policy makers are finally realizing women need to be an equal part of the workforce, are still regarded largely as window dressing to look pretty while men do the "hard lifting."

Serving tea in the office, being required to join after-work drinking parties as eye candy with superiors while they entertain clients, being required to wear skirts, stockings, makeup, and employ that infantile high-pitched child voice when speaking to clients either in person or on the phone -- All of it is the byproduct of a still-firmly entrenched patriarchal mindset perpetuated by too many men in Japan, and far too many women. And not just a few ex-pats who play the cultural relativity card any time cultural progess gets in the way of painfully racist and sexist fetishes about what an Asian woman is and should be.

Hmm...Yamato police station..... now why does that ring a bell? Oh yes, now I remember why:

Kanagawa prefectural police said Monday that two male police officers from Yamato have been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a junior female officer.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/2-kanagawa-cops-arrested-for-sexually-harassing-female-colleague

How about more training on how to do their job? No, lets focus on makeup and conversation skills... lets get out of the 50's Japan.

Japanese language is more nuanced than English

No it's not. The Japanese people use the language in a more nuanced manner than English speakers generally use English, but English has just as much capacity as Japanese, if not more, to be used in a nuanced manner.

Nice to see the police are spending our tax money on things that are worthwhile and contribute to our safety and well-being...

Has anyone seen the British series, "Life on Mars" where detective inspector wakes up in 1973?

Unbelievable, 1 aimed at women members. 2 yesterday the story was the police extracted 2-4 false confessions . Think a police wide class on integrity and interview skills, evidence collection might be more helpful.

Make up? They're coppers not models. And as for the lesson in manners, why can't the male police have them too? More institutionalised sexism, no wonder this country is doomed.

LFRAgain, thank you for shedding some light on the true nature of this seminar. It's just so... damned... unnecessary... What a waste of time for all involved. If the female officers want make up tips, they can find plenty of free advice online. Japan really needs to get up to speed with this whole 'internet' thing (granted, that's another, only slightly related issue, but still).

Male police officers in this country are a mixed bunch themselves. Their manners certainly aren't consistent - I've seen and met extremely polite officers, and also seen (luckily not directly dealt with) some rather ill-mannered ones. Would be nice to know WHY this seminar is only for female recruits.

Oh wait, could it be because women are presumed to have less knowledge than their male counterparts about basic social functions such as manners? (Yes, Japanese language is more nuanced than English, but isn't that part of the reason for screenings of new recruits? I mean, they don't (touch wood) just let ANYONE in, do they?)

I haven't made any sweeping generalizations. But you have, based on, as best as I can tell, your limited personal experience with but a few of the Kanagawa police force.

Did it ever occur to you that your interactions with the police didn't go as you expected because of cultural differences? Or perhaps even slight intimidation in the presence of a foreigner who very clearly harbors no small amount of disdain for most things Japanese?

Qualify and quantify precisely what the Kanagawa police did or didn't do that made them "useless" in your eyes. Present a case. Then see if your case with, say, 5, 10, or even 20 officers out of seventeen thousand is representative of the whole. Bet you dollars to donuts it isn't. Not even a little bit.

Meanwhile, basing your argument on "Hahahahahahahaha!" with an overzealous application of "?!?!?!?" isn't going to convince anyone here of anything other than your sour grapes over not getting your way for one reason or another.

Did this one instruct how to yell and point a gun when apprehending criminal?. Is there another instruction session to male officers how to makeup so that they will look mean?

Probie,

The selection process for becoming an officer in the NPA is indeed difficult and rigorous. Success depends very strongly on one's capacity for discipline and calm under duress.

While I can certainly appreciate the humor value of the occasional "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" jab at the local constable, the truth of the matter is that it's still a tough job to get, regardless of sweeping generalizations about the police -- the Kanagawa police in particular.

Unless you've had personal interaction with each of the 17,000 people who make up the uniformed and non-uniformed staff of the Kanagawa police force and can provide compelling evidence they they are all emotionally immature and lacking in discipline, I'll take your "Hahahahahahahaha!" with a sizeable grain of salt.

Tha Kanagawa police should be trying to get rid of the dead wood in their force rather than teaching some woman how to put lipstick on. We don't pay our tax money for that.

On this we can agree.

I'm still paying some of their wages through my tax. So they work for me.

On this, we can't agree. They don't work for you. They work for society at large. Certainly when it comes to person-to-person interaction, they should be able to provide the services inherent in a job whose main role in maintaining public order. But they don't "serve" you, or me, or anyone else.

As an aside, two of my uncles, one of my nephews, and a good college friend of mine are all police officers, and they roundly maintain that the "You work for me" niche of citizens tend to be generally unpleasant to deal with all around. Food for thought.

Not to disagree, but I think English speakers tend to make more efforts toward precision and avoid the confusion that Japanese speakers seem to enjoy injecting into conversations, much to my annoyance.

It's not disagreeing with what I said at all. I didn't say English speakers are nuanced, I simply pointed out the capacity of English to be as nuanced as Japanese, if not more.

There are definitely different standards for men and women -- and I think this even applies to the West, although to a lesser extent. Women, for better or for worse, are able to dress more fashionably/casually then men. They're also able to accessorize more. Whether in Japan or in the West, I don't think it would be desirable for men to come to work with earrings on, for example.

Next week its the police Mens turn.

I don't want to sound like some shrill harpy, male or female aren't they first and foremost Police Officers. Surely depending on the chosen field of law enforcement , basic training deals with manners 'n' makeup. The requirement for an 'outside instructor' is baffling.

The Japanese people use the language in a more nuanced manner than English speakers generally use English

Not to disagree, but I think English speakers tend to make more efforts toward precision and avoid the confusion that Japanese speakers seem to enjoy injecting into conversations, much to my annoyance.

And I will also say I don't really give a fig about the "manners" of police. They don't have to be nice, they just have to not be jerks. They can be deadpan and straightforward, no sweat. If they concentrate on anything it should be to stop harassing people (and yes you can politely harass people) for simple mistakes that happen for Japan's unnecessarily complicated systems. They can also stop violating people's privacy by doing things like asking your nationality (which is no longer on our DLs), asking for our phone numbers, and taking our fingerprints for minor traffic violations.

M3M3M3,

Well played. Well played indeed.

@LFRAgain

Now, call me crazy, but the selection process for becoming a police officer is rather rigorous, and the young people who set upon this career possess a number of qualities that including emotional maturity and personal discipline.

Hahahahahahahaha! That was a good one! "(E)motional maturity and personal discipline"? Especially in the Kanagawa police?!?!?!?! You are crazy if you actually think that.

I haven't made any sweeping generalizations.

So " the young people who set upon this career possess a number of qualities that including emotional maturity and personal discipline." isn't a sweeping generalization?

But you have, based on, as best as I can tell, your limited personal experience with but a few of the Kanagawa police force.

Yeah, if every one of the cops I dealt with were useless, I'm entitled to my opinion that they are useless.

Did it ever occur to you that your interactions with the police didn't go as you expected because of cultural differences?

The work of police shouldn't have "cultural differences".

Or perhaps even slight intimidation in the presence of a foreigner who very clearly harbors no small amount of disdain for most things Japanese?

I'm still paying some of their wages through my tax. So they work for me. I should be allowed to let them know when I think they're doing a s****y job. As I have in all the countries I have lived in.

Qualify and quantify precisely what the Kanagawa police did or didn't do that made them "useless" in your eyes. Present a case. Then see if your case with, say, 5, 10, or even 20 officers out of seventeen thousand is representative of the whole. Bet you dollars to donuts it isn't. Not even a little bit.

It shouldn't matter whether it is representative of the whole or not. People don't deal with cops every day. So, you expect them to be useful when you do deal with them. In my experience, they haven't been. Unless I'm looking for some place that is not on a map.

Meanwhile, basing your argument on "Hahahahahahahaha!" with an overzealous application of "?!?!?!?" isn't going to convince anyone here of anything other than your sour grapes over not getting your way for one reason or another.

I don't have sour grapes about anything.

Tha Kanagawa police should be trying to get rid of the dead wood in their force rather than teaching some woman how to put lipstick on. We don't pay our tax money for that. I don't care how the police women look if they just do their job well.

I think Kanagawa policeMEN should receive tips on manners and makeup.

They are Japanese women, so they're going to use makeup, course or not. You can whine and argue all week, (which you will) about whether women should or should not wear makeup, but this course is almost certainly about LIMITING makeup use while on duty to avoid having uniformed pandas strolling the streets.

Additionally, being polite in Japanese isn't just adding "please" to the end of every bark as it is in English, so it might actually warrant training.

Straight out of the 50s? Which of you is from the country the defines the times for the entire world? You know, if you could come down off your high horse and tell me?

This is not about being up to date by your standards people. Its about being sensible. Or not.

@LFRAgain

Oh, so it's okay for you to make sweeping generalizations , but nobody else is, right?

Unless you've had personal interaction with each of the 17,000 people who make up the uniformed and non-uniformed staff of the Kanagawa police force and can provide compelling evidence they they are all emotionally immature and lacking in discipline, I'll take your "Hahahahahahahaha!" with a sizeable grain of salt.

Every one of them I have dealt with, has been useless. Just because someone can pass a test, that doesn't mean that they are emotionally mature and have good personal discipline; and the amount of column inches they get for doing stupid stuff sort of proves that. I'm not saying that all of them are idiots however. I'm sure there are some who do their job really well. Out there. Somewhere. Lurking.