Research Ethics

Improper receipt and/or use of grants and misconduct in funded research undermine public trust in the entire scientific research community. It is vital for researchers using publicly funded grants to exercise proper ethics when conducting their activities. All Tokyo College members have a responsibility to spend funds provided by the Japanese government in an appropriate manner.

Research Ethics Education

Tokyo College researchers must take and pass a course in the APRIN e-learning program (CITI Japan). After being hired, you will be contacted by a member of the Tokyo College team, so please take the course promptly.

Research Integrity

With the ongoing internationalization and increasingly open nature of research activities, it is necessary that we maintain research integrity, so we ask for the cooperation of our researchers in this regard.

Ethical Review in Human Subjects Research

At this university, research involving human subjects must be conducted appropriately after undergoing ethical review to ensure scientific validity, ethical compliance, and safety. Even if a study does not fall under the life science or medical guidelines, it is recommended to undergo ethical review if it meets any of the following criteria:

Questionnaire or interview surveys requiring ethical consideration (e.g., asking about past traumatic experiences, sensitive personal information, or involving socially marginalized groups)

Research for which ethical review is required by domestic or international academic journals or collaborating institutions

If you are conducting research that falls under the above categories, please complete training at UTOL (https://utol.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/login) and apply for ethics review through the Life Science Research Application Management System (https://revisp.adm.u-tokyo.ac.jp/).

For reference:

・Action Plan for Research Ethics - A High Standard of Research Ethics as the Ethos of the University of Tokyo - (March, 2014)　（https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/content/400008640.pdf ）

・Code of Conduct for Scientific Research leaflet (https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/content/400030733.pdf）

Contact: TC Research Funding Team（research.funding@tc.u-tokyo.ac.jp）

Last updated : October 14, 2025