任命 and 就任: appointing someone and taking up a position
Compare an employee being appointed chair or department head with a chair taking office and a future theater-company head. Identify the appointee, the position, and the stated timing.
The person appointed to a position
任命 (にんめい) means appointment. 「新しい委員長には経験豊かな職員が任命された。」 means “An experienced employee was appointed as the new committee chair.” The experienced employee is the appointee, and committee chair is the position. The passive expression 任命された identifies the person appointed rather than someone making the appointment.
「部長の任命を受け、彼女は深く一礼した。」 means “After being appointed department head, she bowed deeply.” She received the appointment and then bowed. Receiving an appointment places her on the receiving side of the relationship; bowing does not make her the person who appointed someone else.
Taking office and the time stated
就任 (しゅうにん) concerns taking office. 「新しい委員長の就任を皆で拍手して祝いました。」 means “Everyone applauded the new chair's appointment.” The applause celebrates the new chair taking up the position. The action of applauding is reported as completed.
「彼女は来月、劇団の代表に就任する予定です。」 means “She will become head of the theater company next month.” The next-month timing and 予定です express a plan to take up a position. The role is head of the theater company, and the sentence does not report that she has already taken office.
Read the appointment and the office holder together
任命 focuses on a person being designated for a position; 就任 focuses on the person taking up that position. Both perspectives can concern the same person and role. The words alone do not establish two mandatory stages in a formal appointment procedure.
In 任命を受け, the person receives the appointment. Her bow, the group’s applause, and the future plan have different actors or timing. Keep the receiving relationship separate from the action and time expressed in each sentence.
Which side of the appointment relationship is the woman who bows after receiving the department-head appointment, and what does the plan for 就任 next month focus on?
Show the answer and why
She is the appointee rather than the person making an appointment. The future sentence focuses on her taking up the theater-company head role next month. Keep the receiving relationship, the office-holder perspective, and the future timing distinct.