Journals question integrity of almost 200 papers by Japanese anaesthetist

The editors in chief of the world’s leading anaesthetics journals have offered Tokyo’s Toho University an ultimatum: vouch for the integrity of all research conducted by the anaesthetist Yoshitaka Fujii or the journals will retract his research papers.

The letter asks the university to verify the authenticity of 193 papers. The university has until 30 June to respond with a timeline for assessing the papers. It has been asked to confirm that each study occurred as represented in the relevant paper and that appropriate ethical approval was obtained. It has also been asked to examine the original research data and verify that they are authentic. …