What is the difference between 引き継ぐ and 引き受ける

Question

I learn that both 引き継ぐ and 引き受ける can mean "take over".

引き継ぐ is about succeeding someone and its more suited for long term responsibilities/task

引き受ける is for more for casual work

I'm still a bit confused on what they mean by "casual work"

Also, in this sentence (異三郎から引き受けた警察組織ここで終わらせるわけにはいかないもの) 引き受ける is used here but I think shouldn't taking over the police organization considered a long term responsibility, so why didn't they use 引き継ぐ instead

Can anyone help me clear the confusion between the difference of 引き継ぐ and 引き受ける and why 引き受ける is used in the sentence

Answer 1

引き受ける means "takes over X", "takes care of X" etc. 引き継ぐ means you replace someone who was fulfilling a role before you.

For example, if you say 猫の世話を引き受ける then it means you accept taking care of the cat. If you say 猫の世話を引き継ぐ then it means there was somebody else who was taking care of the cat, and they are handing that responsibility to you.

Therefore, you can say 子猫を見つけ、世話をひき受けた but it'd be odd to say 子猫を見つけ、世話を引き継いだ because it implies someone else was taking care of the kitten before. 引き受ける is neutral so you can use it in both cases. For example both 貴子がしていた子猫の世話を引き継いだ and 貴子がしていた子猫の世話を引き受けた is fine.