I can't imagine sony would venture into the protected 18650 raw-cell market. it doesn't seem like it would fit their business model.
The only Japan origin (legit) Sony 18650 cells I am familiar with are the US18650GR greenies... (I have seen older sony cells in blue too, but they are from ~2004 IIRC)
Yeah, the protection circuit is a dead giveaway that it's a fake. There isn't a single Li-Ion cell manufacturer in the world that provides cells with protection circuits. I doubt there ever will be, either. The risk of lawsuits is just too high.