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Nova chief may face unpaid wages charge
The labor ministry’s regional bureau in Osaka is planning to send information to prosecutors possibly later this week on Nozomu Sahashi, former president of Nova Corp., on suspicion of nonpayment of wages to language instructors, sources said Monday. The Osaka Prefectural Police are separately planning to launch investigations to build a criminal case against Sahashi,…
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Ex-Nova boss Sahashi facing embezzlement probe
Police are poised to begin an investigation into former Nova Corp. President Nozomu Sahashi upon suspicion of embezzlement, sources said. Sahashi used a mutual aid society for Nova employees to transfer about 320 million yen from the employees’ welfare fund into a Nova account in July last year. Nova was on the brink of collapse…
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Ex-Nova chief faces criminal investigation
The Osaka Prefectural Police will soon open a criminal investigation against the former president of failed language-school chain Nova Corp. on suspicion of embezzling a ¥320 million special employee welfare fund, sources said Sunday. Nozomu Sahashi is suspected of ordering the accounting staff at the Osaka-based firm to transfer all of the money in the…
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Nova ‘paid bills with employee welfare fund’
About 300 million yen contributed by employees of the bankrupt language school chain Nova Corp. to a staff welfare fund was transferred to a company bank account in July to cover operating costs and done without the approval of employees, the police have said. According to the police, former Nova president Nozomu Sahashi ordered the…
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Berlitz Striking Teachers Make History
The Berlitz General Union Tokyo (Begunto, a local of Nambu) maintained and expanded its 2007 shunto strike during this year’s shunto, focusing on two demands: a 4.6% across-the-boards base pay hike and a one month bonus. Nearly half of all 46 Berlitz schools in the Kanto plain have been hit by walkouts since the dispute…
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As parent firm posts record profits, Berlitz teachers strike back
“Benesse boasts openly on its Web site about the success of its ‘Language Company’ sector, mentioning Berlitz Japan in particular,” notes longtime Berlitz teacher and Begunto (Berlitz General Union Tokyo) Vice President Catherine Campbell. The language teachers of Begunto didn’t need a math class to put two and two together, and in April 2007 they…
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Ex-Nova teachers face firings half year on
Foreign and Japanese employees hired by Nova Corp.’s successor complained of unreasonable dismissals and pay cuts Saturday as they marked the half-year anniversary of the giant language school’s collapse. Nagoya-based G.communication said it had hired about 1,400 foreign instructors by the end of December, but that about 400 of them had quit by the end…
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Ex-NOVA teachers file complaint about getting laid off by new owners
About 20 foreign language teachers formerly employed by NOVA Corp. filed a complaint with a labor standards inspection office here on Friday, claiming that they were illegally fired by the companies that took over the failed language school chain. “Unfair dismissal!” chanted the former NOVA teachers as they joined a prep rally held by [Tokyo…
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Police targeting ex-Nova president
Police are investigating the former president of the now-bankrupt language school chain Nova Corp. for possible breach of trust over a project that brought profits to an affiliate he controlled, sources said. Nozomu Sahashi, 56, is suspected of having paid exorbitant prices for a server used in video-phone hookups for language lessons, sources said. Police…
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Paper scandal points to shortcomings of Japan Inc
Corporate governance is a relatively new concept in Japan, the world’s second-largest economy. It ranks 38th out of 49 nations, lagging behind South Africa, Venezuela and Peru, according to GovernanceMetrics International, a corporate governance ratings agency. The scandals come on top of what analysts see as insular management styles in Japan and an insufficient number…