was a Japanese archaeologist and a professor at

Beppu University is a private university in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It has campuses at the cities of Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

, Japan. He committed suicide by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

himself on March 9, 2001, as a result of the

Japanese Paleolithic hoax The consisted of a number of lower and middle paleolithic finds in Japan discovered by amateur archaeologist Shinichi Fujimura, which were later all discovered to have been faked. The incident became one of the biggest scandals in archaeological ...

Life

Kagawa majored in archeology, with a focus in the Japanese Paleolithic period. In 1962 he led an excavation at the Hijiridaki cave site (聖嶽洞窟遺跡) in

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

. The team claimed that they discovered ancient human bones and stone tools dating back to the Paleolithic era, but later in 1999 other researchers questioned this conclusion and argued that the claim could not be proven. In a series of articles by the Japanese magazine ''

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as ...

'' published on January 25, February 1 and March 15, 2001, it was alleged that the stone tools discovered at the site were fabrication and indicated Kagawa had been involved in that hoax. He committed suicide and left a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...

to proclaim his innocence. His family filed a defamation suit against ''Shūkan Bunshun'' the same year. The Ōita district Court and the Fukuoka High Court ordered the magazine to pay the damages and issue an apology to the family of Kagawa. The magazine appealed to the Supreme Court although the appeal was rejected in September 2004. An apology statement was published on September 2, 2004, issue. On October 25, 2003, a project team from the

Japanese Archaeological Association The (JAA) was established in 1948 and is a nationwide organization concerned with the archaeology of Japan and the preservation of its Cultural Properties. At the time of its establishment there were 81 members and by 1998, 3,387 members, with t ...

stated that they could not find any evidence to make judgments whether there was a fabrication or not. 「ねつ造証明できず」　聖嶽洞穴遺跡で考古学協会
Dead Link), 共同通信, 2003年10月26日

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External links

別府大学・別府大学短期大学部ホームページ
Beppu University Japanese archaeologists Suicides by hanging in Japan 1923 births 2001 suicides 20th-century archaeologists 2001 deaths {{japan-scientist-stub

Life

See also

References

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