Very few cases of scientific fraud have come to light in Japan. Some attribute this to instrinsic honesty among Japanese scientists, but others say it may merely reflect a national culture in which people turn a blind eye to issues that could give rise to social tensions.

The hierarchical structure of university faculties, particularly within the old, conservative ‘imperial’ universities, and the autocratic powers of individual professors, certainly discourage scientists from blowing the whistle on dubious scientific practices.

“Whistle-blowing is rare, and those bold enough to make accusations do not walk off unscathed — they may well lose their jobs, ” says Masanori Kaji, a historian of science at Tokyo Institute of Technology.

In addition, young scientists cannot hope to influence suspect scientific practice inside the laboratory. “Under the koza system at Japanese universities, where each research group is led by a powerful professor, junior members of staff have almost no voice in the way research is carried out.”

As a government white paper (policy document) on nuclear energy research pointed out last year, however, public trust in science in general has plummeted in the past few years following a series of nuclear accidents and subsequent cover-ups, including fabrication of research data at nuclear fuel recycling plants.

The white paper said that people perceived scientists as “insular” and “unwilling to disclose or share details of their research due to preoccupation with successful results”.

As a result of such incidents, scientists are under increasing pressure to take the ethical aspects of research more seriously. Nearly half of the respondents in a recent public survey conducted by Kanazawa Institute of Technology said they did not believe that scientists have higher moral values than the rest of the population. Ninety-five per cent thought scientists should take more responsibility for the way they work and how they communicate the details of their research to the public.

So, despite the apparently low incidence of scientific misconduct in Japan, broader scepticism towards ethical conduct in research is relatively high. Partly in response, the Science Council of Japan — a government advisory group — published a report last year calling for a new system to promote good scientific practice at universities.