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Zeicho

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Drama / Zeicho /

Zeicho (2023)

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Country Japan
Season Year Fall 2023
Air Dates Oct 14, 2023 – Dec 23, 2023
Episodes 10
Timeslot Saturday at 10:00 pm
Network(s) NTV
Official Site
Licensed No
Native Title ゼイチョー 「払えない」にはワケがある‎
Alternate Title(s) Zeicho: Haraenai ni wa Wake ga Aru
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Synopsis

Aiba Soichiro is a lazy civil servant working in the tax department at the city hall. His job involves getting people to pay their overdue taxes. For this, he evaluates their financial situation and visits their home, which sometimes even leads to seizing their property as a result. But his real job isn’t just to collect their taxes. Sometimes, citizens have no choice but to fall into arrears due to an inability to pay. “We’re not the enemy! We want to be your allies!” he says, empathizing with the citizens’ circumstances and trying to find ways in which to help them.

(Source)

Cast
  • Bengal
  • Guest Role
  • Episode(s): 2

Crew

Music

Theme Song 1

Theme Song 2

Theme Song 3

Promotional images, screencaps, .gifs, etc.





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Episodes

Spoil Me
Episode 1 - October 14, 2023
5.9 %
  • English Title: Please don't underestimate a public servant
  • Native Title: 公務員、なめないでくださいね。
  • Synopsis:

    Straight-laced Domeki Hanako joins the Tax Payment Division of Miyukino city as a revenue officer. Her work mentor Aiba Soichiro is brilliant, albeit quirky and annoying. When a local confectionery maker fails to pay his taxes, Aiba and Domeki investigate why.

  • Notes:
    • Taxate: Aiba Soichiro uses the term "chozeru (チョゼる)", which is probably a nonsensical derivative of the word "chouzei (徴税)", meaning "tax collection". Since chozeru is a made-up word, we've made up our own equivalent in English, which is "taxate".
    • Wagashi: Wagashi are traditional Japanese confectioneries often served with green tea. They're refined in taste and also miniature works of art. Like many foods in Japan, wagashi are made to change with the seasons. You can read more about wagashi here.
    • Kisen (喜泉): The name of the wagashi shop, Kisen (喜泉) is actually a portmanteau of the owner's name in kanji. The name Kisen means "springs of joy".
    • Governor versus Mayor: The governor is the head of a prefecture in Japan, while the mayor is the head of a municipality such as a town or city. Governors hence govern over a larger area compared to mayors.
    • Banto 番頭: While it was translated to "maitre d" in the subs, a banto's job involves explaining the dishes, welcoming and sending off the guests, clearing the tables, etc. I didn't translate it to restaurant manager, because you wouldn't find a banto at your regular family diner.
    • Ad lib: The scene where Aiba tries to steal a bit of the wagashi was an ad lib by Kikuchi Fuma, and Yamada Anna responded in character accordingly.
Episode 2 - October 21, 2023
6.6 %
  • English Title: The delinquent taxpayer is a former schoolmate
  • Native Title: 滞納者はお嬢様同級生
  • Synopsis:

    Domeki's work leads her to confront her past through her old schoolmate, Konuma. Can Aiba and Domeki eventually convince Konuma to pay her taxes?

  • Notes:
    • In Japan, public housing complexes commonly known as danchi cater to the middle class with their affordable rents. In order to live in an apartment within a danchi, occupants are required to fulfill certain conditions. When Aiba referred to delinquent taxpayers who faked their income levels, these people are likely to have under declared their income in order to qualify for a danchi apartment.
    • Pachinko is a mechanical ball game that is frequently used for low-stakes gambling. Although gambling is illegal in Japan, pachinko parlors have exploited a legal loophole. Players which win the pachinko balls from games cannot directly exchange them for money, but they can be traded for prizes, or tickets which are in turn exchanged for cash at a nearby vendor.
    • Hello Work refers to the name of the Japanese government’s employment service center, which maintains a database of job offers made accessible to job seekers. It also manages unemployment insurance benefits.
    • Everyone in Japan between the ages of 20 and 59 is required to pay basic pension premiums (16,590 yen per month in 2022) for 40 years in order to receive full benefits. But the system is imbalanced, with shrinking numbers paying in and growing numbers drawing out of the national pension fund. This is described using the diagram below. From my perspective, Manami represents the generation of working adults who are supporting a growing aging population, and feels that the social security system isn’t doing enough to help her generation.
  • Screenshots:
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Episode 3 - October 28, 2023
6.0 %
  • English Title: The dark side of single fathers... Please depend on public servants.
  • Native Title: シングルパパの闇…公務員、頼って下さい。
  • Synopsis:

    Revenue officer Masuno Meguru tries to help out a single father who's lagging behind in his tax payments. Aiba and Domeki uncover the secret of a divorced couple in their city.

  • Notes:
    • In Japan, there are two methods to pay for resident tax. The first method is called “Special Collection”, where companies deduct the resident tax from their employee’s salary directly, and pay it to the city. The second method is “General Collection”, where a resident will receive a tax payment slip each year from the city, asking them to pay the resident tax. As Kinoshita is not a permanent employee at his company, his company might not perform the “Special Collection” on his behalf. Thus, it caused him to be delinquent on his resident taxes, as he’s overwhelmed with caring for his young children and performing his job.
    • Applications for public daycare in Japan are graded based on a points system, which varies depending on each prefecture and even city ward. Points are added or subtracted depending on a variety of factors, including the type of employment, health issues, and marital status. Children who qualify for daycare and placed on waiting lists for licensed daycare centers are called taiki jido (待機児童). [spoiler]Like in the drama, there are even extreme cases of couples divorcing on paper in order to get public daycare, since single parents get priority for daycare admission.[/spoiler]
    • Single parents may apply for child support allowances, medical subsidies, tax deductions or even get domestic help at reduced rates in certain cities.
    • In Japan, licensed daycare centers adhere to specific government guidelines, specifically the child welfare law. Licensed facilities also provide subsidies. Unlicensed facilities work under less strict conditions. Unlicensed facilities do not meet the standard set by the government regarding the size of the facilities, but many of these facilities do cater to the specific needs of the parents and children and provide unique and diverse childcare. It is worth noting that unlicensed facilities go through many rigorous and mandatory inspections each year.
    • In Japan, parents are entitled up to one year of leave to care for their child. This is done through maternity leave and childcare leave, as shown in the diagram below. Fathers are also eligible for childcare leave.
  • Screenshots:
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Episode 4 - November 4, 2023
6.0 %
  • English Title: Huge tax debt!? The gentle lies of a supportive wife
  • Native Title: 高額滞納!?支える妻の優しい嘘
  • Synopsis:

    Aiba, Domeki and Hamamura investigate a former national soccer player who's delinquent on his taxes. All is not as it seems with this star athlete and his supportive wife.

  • Notes:
    • The J2 League (J2) is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League.
    • Property tax is calculated on all taxable assets including land, housing and commercial buildings, and is typically subject to a standard property tax rate of 1.4%. In Odakura’s case, the assessed value of his land went up, so he needs to pay more property tax.
    • Added time in soccer, also called injury time or stoppage time, is implemented by the referee at the end of each half to make up for time lost due to substitutions, disciplinary penalties (yellow and red cards), injury to players, arguments with the referee and delays due to video assistant referee check.
    • There are 50 or so Regional banks (地方銀行), with their head offices in the capital cities of the 47 Prefectures, serving mainly their prefectural customers. This is in contrast to the megabanks like Mitsubishi and Sumitomo.
    • When Aiba said チョゼリグ (chozerigu), it’s a pun on chozei (taxate) and チョベリグ (choberigu), which was a buzzword in the late nineties that was an abbreviation of cho-very-good.
Episode 5 - November 11, 2023
5.3 %
  • English Title: A foreign worker who looks up to his Japanese mother figure... The secret behind their tears
  • Native Title: 外国人青年が慕う日本のお母さん…涙の秘密
  • Synopsis:

    Kamohara tries to help out Quyen, a foreign worker who's delinquent on his taxes and works at the local farm. Aiba and Domeki meet Trung, a nursing home worker who's struggling with making ends meet.

  • Notes:
    • National Health Insurance tax: There are 2 types of health insurance in Japan; one that you enroll at your place of work and one that you enroll at the municipality where you are registered as a resident. People who are registered as a resident in Japan can enroll in one of these public medical insurances and by paying insurance tax can receive worry‐free medical care by paying only 20 to 30% of the treatment cost when they show their insurance card at the counter of a medical facility.
    • In Japan, there are two methods to pay for resident tax. The first method is called “Special Collection”, where companies deduct the resident tax from their employee’s salary directly, and pay it to the city. The second method is “General Collection”, where a resident will receive a tax payment slip each year from the city, asking them to pay the resident tax.
    • Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) is a status of residence for foreign nationals to engage in jobs that require proficient skills in specific industries.
    • The Immigration Services Agency (ISA) is directly controlled by the Ministry of Justice and administers the entry, exit, and stay of foreign nationals in Japan.
    • Foreigners in Japan sometimes report being stopped by the police and asked for ID, a practice which can seem shocking and unfair, especially if you’re not sure why it’s happening. Well, firstly it’s important to note that they also stop Japanese people and ask to see their IDs as well. Being stopped by the police in Japan doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done anything wrong at all. If you’re an unfamiliar face in their patrol area, they may just want to know what you’re doing there.
    • The stage name for Kamohara’s actor is Suzuki Mogura, where Mogura means “mole” in Japanese. When Aiba smacked Kamohara while shouting mogura, it was probably a reference to the actor’s name.
Episode 6 - November 18, 2023
5.2 %
  • English Title: Inheriting a tax debt... The search for hidden assets!
  • Native Title: 滞納税金の相続…隠し資産を探せ!
  • Synopsis:

    The Tax Payment Division is stumped when the price of an egg cooker skyrockets to 1 million yen at their public auction. Aiba and Domeki try to help a freelance photographer who inherits an enormous tax debt.

  • Notes:
    • Under Japanese law, when a person dies, the heirs inherit all the rights and obligations of the deceased. Debts are a form of obligations and therefore can also be inherited. There are two ways for heirs to avoid the inheritance of debts; they can do so by renouncing their inheritance, or by a qualified acceptance of their inheritance. A qualified acceptance is a procedure in which the inherited property is liquidated, and any remaining assets are inherited, and any remaining liabilities are not inherited. Due to the cost and time involved, it is not widely used in Japan. Both the renunciation and qualified acceptance of inheritance must be petitioned to the Family Court within 3 months from the date of learning of the inheritance.
    • The recipients of an inheritance in Japan are also subject to inheritance tax, where the tax rates ranges from 10% to 55%, depending on the value of the inheritance received.
    • In the scene where Eiji is seen bidding at his computer, the camera zooms into his lapel, which is the badge worn by lawyers in Japan after they've been qualified at the bar.
Episode 7 - November 25, 2023
5.1 %
  • English Title: Reuniting with a benefactor... and the hidden truth behind tax evasion.
  • Native Title: 恩人との再会、その裏に潜む税金逃れの闇…
  • Synopsis:

    Aiba and Domeki are tasked to retrieve 10 million yen which the city mistakenly remitted to a single citizen's account. An encounter with a past benefactor hardens Domeki's resolve.

  • Notes:
    • In Japanese companies, the General Affairs (GA) department is usually in charge of matters like office management, insurance matters and travel related administration. It's a little weird that the GA department here was in charge of fund remittance, since this job would normally be assigned to the Finance department. I guess every city handles their work distribution a little differently.
    • When Aiba said "Abeshi", he was mimicking the death throes of characters in the manga, Fist of the North Star.
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