Report on STAP Cell Research Paper Investigation

1. Circumstances On Thursday, February 13, 2014, a RIKEN researcher who had been notified of doubts concerning research papers published by RIKEN scientists contacted the RIKEN Auditing and Compliance Office through one of RIKEN’s executive officers. The director of the Auditing and Compliance Office decided that this matter should be handled in compliance with the provisions for reports on research misconduct stipulated in Article 10, paragraph 3 of RIKEN’s Regulations on the Prevention of Research Misconduct (September 13, 2012, Reg. 61, hereafter “Regulations”), and from that same day through February 17, the Office conducted a preliminary inquiry, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of the Regulations. This preliminary inquiry was carried out by the following five people: Shunsuke Ishii, Atsushi Iwama, Haruhiko Koseki, Yoichi Shinkai, and Tetsuya Taga. In response to the results of this preliminary inquiry, RIKEN decided to carry out a full investigation as stipulated in Article 12 of the Regulations, and an Investigative Committee was established on February 17, with Shunsuke Ishii serving as Chair.