Though forewarned of their language school’s financial woes, students Friday reacted to the news of Nova Corp.’s bankruptcy with shock and disappointment. Some said they were satisfied with their lessons but unhappy and upset with management. Ryotaro Oba, 47, of Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, a Nova student for more than a decade, learned of Nova’s financial…

660 Canadians among 4,000 out of work as 900-school Nova Group chain goes bankrupt An estimated 4,000 foreign teachers, including about 660 from Canada, are without jobs after Japan’s largest school chain, Nova Group, closed its 900 schools and declared bankruptcy yesterday. Many teachers are owed $4,000 in salary for September and October, said Catherine…

The Australian and British Embassies in Japan have begun providing assistance to their citizens working for Nova, Japan’s largest chain of private foreign language schools, after it filed for court protection from creditors. The two embassies have set up sections on their Web sites to provide some support for teachers who reportedly have not been…

Students and instructors voiced anger Friday over Nova Corp.’s decision the same day to temporarily close all of its schools across the country. Students are concerned about what will happen to their lessons and the fees they paid up front, and employees have criticized deposed President Nozomu Sahashi, saying he was “not qualified to run…

Failed English conversation school chain NOVA Corp. could be back in operation within a month with the support of companies willing to help it rebuild, its receivers said. Court-appointed receivers for NOVA, Toshiaki Higashibata and Noriaki Takahashi, said they plan to start looking for backers for the failed chain, with current candidates including retail giants…

A Hello Work public job placement center in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward set up a window Friday to accept consultations from Nova employees, including foreign teachers. Nine staff members and three interpreters took charge of the consultations. More than 20 telephone calls came in the morning alone. Four people also visited the…

THOUSANDS of young foreigners teaching English in Japan were left jobless and in danger of expulsion from the country yesterday after the embattled language education giant Nova shut its 925 schools and sought bankruptcy protection from creditors pursuing 43.9 billion yen ($420 million). At least 5000 foreigners, 2000 Japanese staff and 400,000 students at the…

Nozomu Sahashi, founder and former president of Nova Corp., was known as a dictatorial person who had to decide everything himself as he drastically expanded the firm’s business. Even after the firm was ordered in June by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry to partially suspend its operations, Sahashi made efforts to raise funds for…

Nearly 1,000 British language instructors were left fearing for their jobs yesterday after Nova, the scandal-ridden owner of Japan’s biggest chain of language schools, closed its doors and filed for court protection from creditors with debts totaling an estimated 43.9bn yen (£1.88m). The firm, which has about 900 schools and 418,000 students, built its success…

Language school giant Nova Corp. filed for bankruptcy Friday with the Osaka District Court and said it would temporarily close all its schools nationwide. The sudden move, which came just as labor authorities were about to question its executives, including its missing president, will leave about 300,000 students without lessons and 7,000 employees without jobs.…