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Blame it on the boss of NOVA
The NOVA chain of conversation schools — whose slogan is “ekimae ryugaku” (study abroad in front of the train station) — operates roughly half the English conversation schools in Japan. Earlier this year, in response to a stream of bitter customer complaints, the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government investigated…
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Wronged employees seek redress through mediation
…in this era of short term contracts, temporary jobs, and political shifts to the right, workers, foreign or otherwise, should remember they have rights and their employer has responsibilities. Unions, which only exist due to the support of their members, can point workers the way to “assen” mediation, a special labor disputes court, and, if…
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Diplomat rues Tokyo’s ‘lack of humanity’ to asylum-seekers
What are the prospects for Japan accepting more refugees? Prolonged recession has undermined the context for reception of foreigners, and Japan has a poor record on integrating foreign workers properly. It is hard for the public, media and government to differentiate between the mixture of refugees, economic migrants and criminals seeking entry. And very often…
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H.I.S. may come to Nova’s aid
Major travel agency H.I.S. Co. is considering extending assistance to the scandal-tainted Nova Corp. language school chain in the form of a business tieup or financial assistance, sources said Monday. H.I.S. Chairman Hideo Sawada met with Nova President Nozomu Sahashi late last month in Tokyo to ask about Nova’s financial conditions, according to the sources.…
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Travel agency H.I.S. eyes alliance with struggling Nova
Major travel agency H.I.S. Co. may form an alliance with Nova Corp., the English conversation school operator struggling under a government order to partially suspend operations, sources said. H.I.S., known for its sales of discount airline tickets, is leaning toward providing financial support to the nation’s largest conversational English school in return for a chance…
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Ministry tolerated Nova methods
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry issued a document in June 2002 that tolerated English conversation school industry leader Nova Corp.’s controversial practice of minimizing refunds of students who terminated their contracts, according to sources close to the issue. Four months before the document was issued, the Tokyo metropolitan government began its own administrative procedures…
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Nova Pres. Sahashi refuses to resign over exaggerated ad scandal
Nova Corp. President Nozomu Sahashi on Thursday refused to resign from the top post at the largest English-language school operator in Japan over a scandal involving exaggerated advertisements. His refusal came in response to a call for his resignation from Nova shareholders who asked him at their annual meeting to resign to take responsibility for…
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Groups try to level playing field by limiting foreign players
The slogan of high school sport associations could be: If you can’t beat ’em, ban ’em. The associations have introduced tough restrictions on foreign students because they are trouncing the Japanese athletes in sports such as the ekiden relay marathon, basketball and table tennis. The restrictions followed protests from Japanese fans who say the superior…
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Racism surfaces over bid by foreigner to buy land, settle
FUKUROI, Shizuoka Prefecture– Fearful that they would be inviting crime to their neighborhood, residents blocked an attempt by a Japanese-Brazilian man to buy land on which to build a house. The local regional legal affairs bureau said their actions constituted a “violation of human rights” and told the parties involved that if a similar situation…