Issues in Ensuring Research Integrity in Universities and Management of Conflicts of Interest and Commitment

Abstract

Foreign government and entities have raised concerns about foreign influence in the U.S. academic sector since around 2018. In Japan as well, in 2021, the Cabinet Office has been promoting guidelines for the appropriate execution of competitive research funds and measures to deal with "new risks." Nonetheless, researchers and administrative officers are confused how to think about research integrity, how it relates to conflicts of interest/conflicts of commitment management, and what "new risks" are. This paper described the background of research integrity and conflict of interest/conflict of commitment management, definition and approach to them, issues and common misunderstandings about autonomy in research activities that ensure research integrity, and discussed risks and risk management in academia.