48 academics found to have fake diplomas

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Forty-eight academics at 43 universities possess bogus diplomas they were awarded by overseas organizations claiming to be universities, an Education, Science and Technology Ministry investigation has revealed.

The ministry has asked the universities to take a consistently firm line on the fraudulent qualifications, saying it is detracting from the status of universities.

The investigation carried out from July to September covered all of the nation's public and private universities.

According to the ministry, the organizations, known as "degree mills," have not conducted any educational activities yet have sold fake diplomas for hundreds of thousands of yen. The organizations were found in Australia, Britain, China and the United States, though the governments in each countries have not recognized them as universities.

(Dec. 29, 2007)