An official journal of the Japanese government has retracted a 2021 paper over concerns about misconduct in the work, which was performed in a national research center.
Here’s the retraction notice for the paper, titled “Development and Evaluation of Fluorescence Immunochomatography for Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Thermophilic Campylobacter”:
Food Safety decided to retract this article in which the primary author misconducted as reported from the primary author’s affiliation.
Far more details are available in materials published last December by Japan’s National Institute of Health Sciences, where the first author of the article, Hiroshi Asakura, is chief researcher. According to a press release dated Dec. 26, 2023:
As a result of the investigation, it was found that the description of the specimen used in the Campylobacter quantitative test and the test results in the paper differed from the research content that was considered to be the original data of the paper. It was determined that the fabrication and falsification of papers (specified misconduct) occurred due to a gross neglect of the duty of care. …
An external investigation committee consisting of external experts was established to conduct an investigation. As a result of the investigation, it was determined that during the examination by the ISO/IEC 17025 accredited examination body, the department manager had fabricated, falsified and forged some examination materials, and had given false explanations based on these.
Here are the Institute’s reports:
- Regarding responses to misconduct in research activities and inappropriate conduct in response to ISO/IEC 17025 certification review
- Investigation results report regarding misconduct in research activities
- National Institute of Health Sciences ISO 17025 Certification External Investigation Committee Investigation Report
Neither Asakura nor the editor of the journal – which is an official title of the Japanese government’s Food Safety Commission – responded to our requests for comments.
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