Showa Women's University has found that one of its professors plagiarized in three papers, including work copied from unpublished research meeting documents, other researchers' papers and websites. The university announced the findings in a summary of its investigation report into research misconduct.
The university received a complaint from an outside organization at its compliance desk at the end of June 2026. The president ordered a preliminary review, which compared the papers with the materials cited in the complaint and interviewed the professor. The review confirmed that plagiarism was likely.
A full investigation ran from August to September 2026, covering the papers named in the complaint and the professor's publications over the past five years. The committee used a plagiarism-checking tool and interviewed the professor several times.
What was found
The university classified the misconduct as plagiarism. In paper A, the professor copied from another party's unpublished research meeting documents and from websites. Papers B1 and B2 contained material taken from websites and from earlier research papers.
The investigation found no misuse of public research funds connected to the case.
Cause and response
The university attributed the plagiarism to a lack of research ethics awareness, a loose grasp of citation rules, and a habitual lack of the accuracy and rigor expected of a researcher.
The professor's faculty research funding has been suspended. The papers have been withdrawn or are in the process of being withdrawn, and the university said it took the measures required under its regulations.
To prevent a repeat, the university plans to strengthen practical research ethics training and to require plagiarism checks with a similarity tool before publication.
The university did not release the professor's name, citing discussion within its internal committee.