From the Yomiuri

Worth a read.

Nova is ova

Work's closed down 'temporarily' as of today. It's all over the news.

aka, it's over.

---

Japan's Nova Corp. files for bankruptcy protection
Osaka-based Nova Corp, Japan's largest language school chain, filed for court protection from creditors under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, according to the Nikkei News, which cited company officials Friday. The company, which provides mostly English conversation courses, reportedly had liabilities of 43.9 billion yen and will be delisted from the Jasdaq Securities Exchange on Nov. 27. Nova had a 50% market share among foreign language schools in the financial year from April 2002 to March 2003, according to a government statistics cited on Nova' s Web site. Japan's trade ministry ordered the firm to suspend some of its operations in June after it was found to have violated commercial laws amid misled customers about it services in advertisements, the Nikkei reported.

(Another) Bye-Bye Party

Back: Me, Hayoto
Middle: Hiromi
Front: Rumi, Miyuki, Ami

Rumi was my Japanese boss. Miyuki I've know since my first day. Ami is crazy (in a fun way) and I've known her for ages, but was transferred elsewhere a fair while back. Hiromi I knew for only a brief while. Hayato transferred to us a month or so ago and is a really nice guy.


L>R: Minako, Shoko, Mai

Minako works in with the non-Japanese staff as a kind of assistant and I've known her since I started.
Shoko has been with us quite a while and Mai since maybe mid-year.

Shame I couldn't get a single shot with everyone, but people were leaving.


Every one of them has quit within the last 2 months (except Ami, who's last day is tomorrow).


I was the only teacher who was there. I got a call on Saturday telling me to come down, and so did. It was originally going to be everyone, but, since we didn't get paid on Friday, we was postponed til next Saturday. So it was just me and the staff. No idea if all these guys will be there again this coming weekend or not.

This wasn't all of the staff, either. Of the others that I can think of who weren't there: Yukari, (little) Mai, Saori, Chiaki, Saki, Yoshiko, and Aki. Nami also, who came from a nearby branch at the end of last month, but she left earlier in the night. I think that's all of them.

Many of these guys were/are part-time, but I could write a whole blog post on each person. Everyone has a story.


I'm working today. Only 'cause I've nothing else to do. If I'm not paid by the end of the month, then I'll hopefully have at least recruited enough private students over this week to tide me over until the new year.

A Fax...

... that is supposed to be waiting for me when I get to work today.

Payday

To all instructors,

I deeply regret to inform that we are unable to pay salaries on Monday October 15th. This is because it has not been possible to gather sufficient funds as quickly as planned. Instructors are now scheduled to be paid on Friday October 19th.

I am truly sorry about the lateness of this notice and the inconvenience and hardship this causes. I ask for your understanding and patience in this difficult period.

Nozom Sahashi
CEO Nova Corp

It's interesting to note that he signs many of his 'official' faxes as "Nozom Sahashi" rather than his real name, "Nozomu Saruhashi". Guess when shit hits the fan, as it does, he 'never' wrote these faxes... Although, it does have a signature for once.

Found this on The Age's website.

Consular assistance is being offered to 1,300 Australians whose English-teaching company in Japan is going bust, Foreign Affairs minister Alexander Downer says.

Mr Downer said some of the teachers would return to Australia, while others would simply get another job.

Last month, the Osaka-based Nova Corporation reassured their 7,000 staff, 5,000 of whom are foreigners, that the company was not going out of business.

However, Mr Downer said on Friday that although the company had not "completely fallen over yet", it would "fall over", leaving 1,300 Australians financially stranded in a "very expensive" country.

"We'll provide them with consular assistance if they need it," he told ABC radio. "If they get into real personal difficulties, then we'll obviously help them out.

"Otherwise, if they cannot find another job in Japan, then they'll return to Australia."

Mr Downer said there were no broader implications to the company's collapse, it was simply going out of business through poor management.

"It is not as though people in Japan no longer want to learn English, or there has been a complete shift in the whole market, that's not right," he said.

Fickle

So...


Today was another day of change.
I've gotten home around 12:30am after having sat at work chatting with some of the Japanese staff. They would be working on well past when I left.


Over the past month we've had many staff leave; Hayato last week, and then Mai, little Mai and Shouko within the last 3 or so weeks. Yukari was also transferred elsewhere, but hasn't actually left Nova.
Miyuki was finishing up today, who I've known since my first day of work here. :(

Then there's Rumi.
She's been my manager since January-ish. She's been the best you could have hoped for in all ways. It's a sad day... BUT, life goes on and we'll be in touch.
She's kept it quiet, and I know there'll be more than a few surprised people tomorrow (of the teachers that are left that actually know her and haven't just last week transferred to us from all the branches that closed).

There'll be a bye-bye party on the 20th and I'll get and take as many shots as I can handle.


So the general vibe doesn't really need to be explained. The only fulltime staff left has been with us for about 2-3 weeks and so we've had people from head office over to help out.

The staff payday was the 27th of September. They've still not been paid after more than two weeks. This is the 2nd month in a row for them to have it 'late'.



My payday is on Monday coming; the 15th. That single day will be the day that will break the company when they can't pay their teachers on time. If that is the day Nova dies, and it doesn't drag on longer, then the government will give a guaranteed minimum of 80% of what is owed, even if it takes a very long time to get it.
I'll then have basically the last 3 months of this year to find some work for and then I'll be fine for Jan/Feb when I'd intended to travel and not work.
I honestly don't think I'll have too much trouble finding work as I've got feelers out and contacts already. In addition, there'll still be thousands of Nova students looking for study...

I never made a mistake at all with the choice to do Nova. I've had a perfect, almost surreal, life here, but that doesn't change how depressing it is knowing that when I turn up to work tomorrow that there'll be none of 'my staff' anymore.

寂しい。。。

Duncan is Gone

I've survived Duncan's final farewell.

Not sure what to write about it...


Got some more in my Facebook.