The motivation exists elsewhere. The statement “In Japan, we don’t usually doubt a professor” is also true elsewhere. I don’t usually read any paper with the assumption that data was fabricated (maybe selected, possibly presented in a way to tell the strongest story, but not out-right fake).

So, I still can’t quite put my finger on what is different about the Japanese ecosystem. Perhaps the checks and balances within departments are not as strong?

Outside Japan, a manager or department head seems to have a stronger supervisory role in my limited experience.