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With recent revelations of misconduct involving its research on so-called STAP cells, stem cell researcher Haruko Obokata and her employer, Riken Institute, have come under intense scrutiny and criticism.

Last week, the nations largest science research institute announced an action plan to avoid similar scandals from recurring. It remained vague on whether STAP cells really exist, as claimed by Obokata, despite the recent retractions of two STAP papers authored by a team of researchers led by her that claimed to have discovered a new kind of cell that could grow into any type of tissue in the body.

Although the government-backed institute has a track record of producing Nobel Prize-winning researchers, it now faces massive pressure to clean up its act and regain the trust of officials and the public alike.

When was Riken established and why?

Riken was founded in 1917 in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, initially as a private research foundation, by industrialist and entrepreneur Eiichi Shibusawa.

Shibusawa felt it was necessary for Japan to have an institution solely for science, when the world was moving away from mechanical industries. Shibusawa, sometimes called the father of Japanese capitalism, also established the First National Bank (the predecessor of todays Mizuho Bank) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

To turn the country from imitation (of overseas knowledge) to creative power, there is no choice but to promote research on pure physics and chemistry, and for this we must establish an institute of physical and chemical research, Shibusawa said.

Prior to Rikens establishment, Germany established the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. The United States had the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and the Carnegie Institution, and France had the Institut Pasteur.

Shibusawa and a few others felt Japan should create a research institute of its own that could compete with the rest of the world in science research.

Rikens headquarters relocated in 1967 from Tokyo to Wako, Saitama Prefecture, and satellite institutions were placed around the country, each focusing on specific fields of research.

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