Rose-sensei

I'm a Master's student in Japan and I need advice on publishing. Since I'm new to science and in Japan I am quite isolated from the rest of the [normal] world, I have no idea how publishing is usually done. In my case I have the material but my prof says he'll never agree to my publishing. The reason is, in a nutshell, Japan is a feudal country with feudal minds. My prof literally believes that it is impossible for a Master's student to produce a paper and the first paper must be published after getting the Masters. The teaching style in this lab is, we throw you in the water and whoever of you swims, becomes a scientist. That means that for the past year and a half I've been working totally alone. I only had one advisor on experimental techniques (meaning, he's explained how to use lab equipment) and no one has ever said to me anything like "why don't you look at this thing here" or "you could try this method" or "have you seen this paper". Nothing like it has ever happened. In fact, no one in this lab has any idea of what I'm doing. But this is how it is for everybody in this lab. Swim or die, no one's gonna help you. On top of that, the prof has a kink. He believes that "the True Training takes at least 5 years, and if you leave before that, you have not finished you training, you're nothing, you can't be called a scientist, you're a failure and he's ashamed" and doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. And I have a husband. My husband got a position in Europe and now I have to move. And I'm a Masters. And the prof now does everything to show how I'm already a failure because I'm not gonna "finish true training". He said he's never going to write recommendations for me. This fall everybody is going to a conference in Taiwan but me, even the exchange student from Germany but me. It's like, he's trying to show me that I already am an outsider and a shadow and everyone's gonna ignore me as if I don't exist. [Note: my prof isn't even paying me anything, cause the Masters students in Japan are equal to undergrads and in fact, I have to pay for my education, not get money for it. Prof isn't giving me anything except lab space, equipment, electricity and water bills. That's it. And he's even getting money for me from the faculty - cause I'm a foreign student.] And what's bothering me, is that I've been working so hard and actually got some results. Now everything I've done will just be published by this lab, without my name on it. I heard this has happened here [in this lab] a couple of times but when I heard it I didn't listen because I just couldn't imagine that such kind of relationships can even exist in a scientific community in 21st century. So, what I want to ask is, is it possible to publish without your prof's consent? What can I do in my situation?