Nova

The Nova Group was one of the major eikaiwa (private English teaching companies) in Japan until its collapse in October 2007. In February 2007, the company operated a chain of 924 Nova branches plus the Multimedia Center located in Osaka. It filed for bankruptcy protection on 26 October 2007. On November 6, 2007 the court-appointed receivers announced that Nagoya based G.Communication would sponsor Nova, operating just 30 branches.

On June 13, 2007, in response to concerns about Nova's business practices, a six-month ban against soliciting new long-term contracts for students was placed on Nova by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The impending financial crisis facing Nova relating to rapid increase in refund claims, significant drops in sales figures and deterioration of its image, came to a fore in September 2007 when Nova began to delay payment of wages and bonuses to staff. The NAMBU Foreign Workers Caucus in Tokyo estimated that up to 3,000 staff had not received their salaries on time.

A solution for Nova's failure to pay wages was promised by October 19 in a fax sent to branch schools. On October 23, the Osaka Labor Standards office accepted a demand by unionized Nova instructors to investigate criminal charges against Nova President and founder, Nozomu Sahashi, over delayed and unpaid wages.

Following an emergency board meeting on 25 October that removed Sahashi from his position as head of the company, Nova filed for bankruptcy protection on 26 October whereupon the trading of its stock was suspended and will be delisted on 27 November 2007. Additionally, all branches have closed. Nova has yet to pay the outstanding wages.

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It's Official - NOVA Is Closed