University president in Japan self-plagiarized and will forfeit some pay

The head of a Japanese university has been found guilty of research misconduct for self-plagiarism – technically, duplication – and has agreed to pay a one-time cash penalty for his transgressions. 

According to the University of Aizu, a computer science and engineering school in Aizuwakamatsu, Toshiaki Miyazaki, the president and CEO, failed to appropriately cite his own work in four papers: 

Since we have certified the act of not doing this (self-theft), we will announce it based on Article 15, Paragraph 1 of the Fraud Prevention Regulations for Research Activities of the University of Aizu, a public university corporation.

　We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this situation.

　In response to this incident, the University will once again strive to thoroughly implement research ethics education.

　In addition, Miyazaki Chairman and President will voluntarily return 20% of the remuneration for one month

A pdf of the report, in Japanese, is available here. 

Miyazaki did not respond to a request for comment. The average monthly salary for a university president in Japan is about $8,600, according to the Economic Research Institute. One-fifth of that is roughly $1,700. 

Hat tip: Lemonstoism, author of World Fluctuation Watch

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