A Japanese university professor could face up to 10 years in prison after allegedly teaching his students how to produce MDMA to “further their knowledge” of pharmaceuticals, according to reports.
Tatsunori Iwamura, 61, has been likened to Walter White, the fictional chemistry teacher in the cult TV series Breaking Bad who starts manufacturing crystal meth after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Iwamura, a professor at Matsuyama University in Ehime prefecture, has reportedly admitted getting students in his pharmaceutical science class to make MDMA – commonly known as ecstasy – along with the “designer drug” 5F-QUPIC, in 2013.
Japanese law requires researchers to obtain a licence from regional authorities to manufacture illegal drugs for academic purposes.
The Kyodo news agency quoted unnamed sources as saying that Iwamura had a license issued by a local government outside Ehime but it had expired.
Local drug enforcement authorities believe 11 students produced the drug under Iwamura’s instruction. Four students, along with an assistant professor, have also been referred to prosecutors, Kyodo said.
The university said it would discipline Iwamura and the assistant professor once the investigation had ended.
“We sincerely apologise for causing serious concern to students and their parents,” said Tatsuya Mizogami, the university’s president, according to Kyodo.
Drug enforcement officers, who were reportedly acting on a tipoff from someone outside the university, did not find any ecstasy during searches of Iwamura’s home or laboratory at the university’s college of pharmaceutical sciences.
But they did find traces of 5F-QUPIC – also known as 5F-PB-22 – a cannabis-like substance that was banned in Japan in 2014 after it was suspected of causing road accidents.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
