Japanese company structure

Here is a top-down hierarchy of a typical Japanese company:

Shachou (社長): is the president of the company. According to a coworker, his responsibility is to attend dinner after dinner and play golf with other “Shachou”.

Buchou (部長): are the chiefs of every department (Human Resources, Sales, R&D, etc.). “Shocho” (directors of one of the company’s factories) and “Shitencho” (directors of one of the company’s head offices) also belong to this category.

Kachou (課長): are just below Buchou and they’re the chiefs of every subsection within departments. In order to become a Kachou, you usually need 15 years or more of dedication to the company.

Kakarichou (係長): are the supervisors in charge of assigning specific tasks to the lower-level employees. They usually are in charge of groups of 5 to 10 people.

Kaishain (会社員): the lowest level in a company.