NOVA

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Nova (formerly Nova Group) was the largest^[1] eikaiwa (private English teaching companies) in Japan until its widely publicized collapse in October 2007. Before its bankruptcy, Nova employed approximately 15,000 people across a group of companies that supported the operations of and extended out from the "Intercultural Network" of its language schools. Although the scope of its business operations after twenty one years reached its peak in February 2007 following a rapid expansion of its chain to 924 Nova branches plus a Multimedia Center located in Osaka, it took roughly eight months for the company to reach the point where it filed for bankruptcy protection on 26 October, 2007 whereupon the trading of its stock was suspended and was delisted on 27 November, 2007. On 6 November, 2007 court-appointed receivers announced that Nagoya based G.Communication would sponsor Nova, operating just 30 branches.

Nova, already notorious for its overpriced lesson packages^[2], and more recently plagued by lawsuits and negative publicity, began to decline in earnest almost immediately after the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry placed a six-month ban against soliciting new long-term contracts from students on the company on 13 June 2007.^[3] The impending financial crisis facing Nova related to a rapid increase in refund claims, significant drops in sales figures, and deterioration of its image, came to the 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.

The Nova Group is the largest of the Big Four eikaiwa (or private English conversation schools) in Japan. As of March, 2004, the company operates a chain of 618 Nova branches plus the Multimedia Center located in Osaka, Japan.^[1] Nozomu Sahashi (猿橋望, Nozomu Sahashi) is the president and CEO of Nova.

Nova was founded in August 1981 and first publicly traded on November 1996. The Company is led by Nozomu Sahashi　猿橋 望 and is based in Osaka.^[4]In 2002, Nova had 50% of total market share by revenue (61.5 billion yen). In 2003, the Company had 66% market share by number of students, some 410,000 students in total. The Company offers English courses for adults, children, business English and test preparation (TOEFL, TOEIC) as well as Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, and German instruction.^[4] Through subsidiaries, the company also offers telecommunications and travel agency services and offers in-house English instruction, translation and interpretation services for Japanese corporations.^[5][6]NOVA is the largest employer of foreign nationals in Japan, employing 7000 foreign workers,^[7] 5000 of whom are employed as language instructors.^[8] NOVA recruits some 2500 to 2600 teachers to replace those who leave each year.^[7]

Contents 1 List of Sub-Pages about Nova 2 Video and Audio of Nova in the News media 2.1 Video 2.2 Audio 3 Rumors & Unconfirmed Information 3.1 substantiated 4 Marketing 5 Employment 5.1 Orientation & Training 5.2 Nova Contract & Employment Policies 6 Leveling System 7 Typical Lessons 7.1 Voice 7.2 Other Lesson Types 7.3 Textbooks 7.4 Nova IPO 7.5 Drugs 7.6 Shakai Hoken (Employees Health Insurance and Pension) 7.7 Anti-fraternization policy 8 Government intervention 8.1 Concerns about refund policy 8.2 Supreme Court appeal rejected 8.3 Business restrictions imposed 8.4 Events following restrictions 8.5 Student charges 8.5.1 Restrictions Imposed by the Japanese Government 9 Nova in other media 10 The NOVA-doctor connection? 10.1 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] List of Sub-Pages about Nova

| Angela Smyth: Hoax | List of NOVA Employment Policies | List of News Articles about Nova | Complete Guide to Nova's Payslip |

| Supreme Court rulings against NOVA | METI Report | Osaka Bar Letter of Recommendation | Things NOVA used to do |

| Official Nova Documents | Nova Vacation Policy | Nova Accommodations | Nova Rants | List of Nova branches that are closing or have closed

[edit] Video and Audio of Nova in the News media

[edit] Video

• Nova Union asks government to secure employment[1]

• Nova found guilty of illegal business practices[2]

• Nova Teachers Union Press Conference[3]

• Nova Apologizes at Shareholder Meeting[4]

• Nova Apologizes at Shareholder Meeting 2[5]

• Nova Told To Revise Its Improvement Plan[6]

• Lower House Lawmaker Nakayama Sticks Up for Nova[7]

• Major travel agency H.I.S. Co is considering a tie-up with Nova[8]

• Complaints Continue at Nova [9]

[edit] Audio

• Transpacific Radio: ABC Radio National on the Nova Situation[10]

[edit] Rumors & Unconfirmed Information

• Recently Nova drastically made cuts to the payroll (especially for positions in management)
• Nova is considering relocating the MM Center operations entirely offshore to Taiwan, where they've already opened a branch.

• An unknown number of Nova's payroll & accounting staff quit in July 2007
• In early OCT some senior figures (the names Fukuda, Kimura and Hashimoto come up a lot) tried to force Saruhashi out but ended up being forced to resign (or being fired) themselves instead. (from posts on 2ch)

[edit] substantiated

• Nova Pres. Saruhashi sent a fax to branches stating 'he understands the current situation is distressing for staff and teachers and God has sent the company a trial and mission to achieve, that Nova must continue to exist to achieve Gods the mission...This fax is called the "God Fax" or "Jesus Memo"
• All branch budgets have been cut. That includes detergents to clean the toilets and other areas of the schools and garbage bags.[11]
• Nova Pres Saruhashi has also been reported to be 'missing' and calls to his office go unanswered[12]
• Nova's has drastically cut back on advertising, in fact...besides handing out tissues there really is no advertising

[edit] Marketing

Eikaiwa chains aggressively operate extensive advertising campaigns in print and on television and have a very high profile and strong brand recognition.^[9][10] Until recently, Nova used an animated pink rabbit (Usagi) for the popular face of the company, appearing often on as the focus of Nova's commercials TV and other advertisements.^[11] The rabbit appealed strongly to children and became extremely popular. The introduction of 'Usagi' merchandise saw sales totals of over ¥260 million yen in the first 2 weeks of availability. ^[12] Nova partially discontinued using the rabbit in January 2003 after JSPCA Animal rights activists lodged a protest over a commercial that featured the rabbit getting its ears ripped off citing concerns of its impact on children's awareness of death.^[11]

Many of Nova branches are located near train stations, and the company uses the term 'ekimae ryūgaku' ("foreign studies near the train station": 駅前留学) in its promotional materials. The catch phrase helped Nova to become the nation's biggest chain of English language schools. ^[13] It similarly promotes its interactive multimedia network as 'ochanoma ryūgaku' ("study abroad from the living room": お茶の間留学).^[14]

Nova's success is also attributed to its promises of a foreign teacher, smaller class sizes than its rivals, and an appointment system that allowed students to schedule and attend class at their convenience.^[15] However, in 1997, 18 students filed a grievance with the Tokyo Metropolitan Governments claiming they were unable to make lesson appointments when they wanted despite the school's advertisements stating that its students could reserve classes "at any time." The students said they had purchased hundreds of tickets when joining the school, but found it impossible to use them all by the expiry date due to inflexible scheduling procedures. NOVA agreed to a proposal by the Damage Relief Committee to repay a total of 3.8 million yen and said the dispute had been the result of a misunderstanding.^[16]

[edit] Employment

Large English conversation schools like Nova employ thousands of trained and untrained teachers^[17] and are occasionally referred to as 'chain' or 'factory schools'.^[18][19][10] Working conditions in large schools like Nova are described as 'dire' in comparison to smaller schools^[18] and get lots of complaints,^[20] even NOVA has had the moniker 'NO-VAcation' attached to it.^[21] NOVA is recognized to be the largest employer of foreign nationals in Japan, employing 7000 foreign workers,^[7] 5000 of whom are employed as language instructors.^[8] NOVA relies almost entirely on overseas recruiting^[18] to replace 2500 to 2600 teachers who leave each year.^[7]

[edit] Orientation & Training

Shortly after arriving, you will be required to attend an orientation session at Nova. This day is an opportunity for Nova to gain any extra information and forms from you. It is also where Nova will “welcome” you to the workplace and attempt to sell you a mobile phone from its “Com Station” company. If you make such a purchase from Dot.Com, you shall shortly be disappointed to find that you could have gained a similar or better phone cheaper (or for free) by going to one of Com Station’s competitors on your own. Nova will also provide you with a free “bento” lunch box on this day. You can expect that to be the last of Nova’s kindness to you.

Initial training at Nova takes place over three days. This is normally enough time to thoroughly confuse the new employee, but not to provide any actually useful experience or knowledge. That said, there are different trainers throughout Nova. Some of them assist new instructors to the best of their ability, some of them don’t, and most of them don’t have the experience or training to be able to sufficiently train you for the job in two weeks –let alone three days.

On the third and final day, you will be put in a class and expected to teach full fee paying students. They will not be told that you are still training for the job, and (as in my case) you may be instructed to lie to them about the length of your experience as a teacher/instructor.

[edit] Nova Contract & Employment Policies

• (For more information see List of NOVA Employment Policies)

During the course of employment, Nova keeps a log book at the branch level where the staff and titled instructors are encouraged to write down any "incidents" or "complaints" that come up as well as "compliments" from students. This log book is also known unofficially as the "shame file". If a teacher never gets any complaints their name won't appear in the log. During contract renewal it is used to help determine if a renewal is appropriate and/or how much if any raise is offered. Typically incidents that find their way into the 'shame files' are not brought to the teachers attention until contract renewal if at all unless the indecent was especially serious. Nova instructors are not allowed to know the details of complaints that are listed in the log, or even if the complaints are true or fictitious. Students have been known to complain because they might only want to have male teachers or occasionally black and Asian teachers also get mystery complaints like "I didnt like the way he looked at me".

Below are some examples of what has been observed in the branch logs (shame files):

• "The teacher raised the topic of recycling and conserving energy. If we all do these things, the Japanese economy will go downhill. The teacher should not raise these topics in class."
• "The teacher is obviously very familiar with Japanese society. I feel that I'm not being taught by a "real gaijin." Please put me in a class with a real "gaijin teacher."

• "There is another student in this class who uses a wheelchair. I don't like her. Please assign me to another class."

[edit] Leveling System

Students at Nova are assigned a level based on their abilities in conversational English (or whichever language it is that they are studying). When a new student joins Nova, they are given a "level check" test by an "instructor," which typically takes 20 minutes, and their level is decided based on their performance. A student is able to "level up" after a minimum of 10 lessons (5 lessons from level 7C to 7B), and only if they are given a recommendation by two instructors. At this point they are given a chance to take a "level up" test and, if successful, they move up one level.

The levels in order from lowest to highest at Nova are 7C, 7B, 7A, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. According to the level criteria of Nova, 7C means that the student either demonstrates no knowledge of the spoken language, or very little. Level 1 is the equivalent of "an educated, articulate native speaker," and therefore typically Level 2 is the highest a student at Nova can reach. The average beginner at Nova starts in level 7B in English, since Japanese people are required to study English for a total of 6 years in their junior high and high schools, and typically have some understanding of the grammar and vocabulary. This is not true, however, of the other languages that Nova offers, of which the students typically have no prior knowledge.

[edit] Typical Lessons

After being assigned a level based on the results of their level check, the Nova student can then take lessons. Usually they take lessons with other students of the same level, however they can request lessons in the a class immediately above their current level. A long time ago Nova lessons were 50 minutes. They cut them to 45 and then to 40. Each lesson is 40 minutes long and may have between 1 and 4 students in most branches. A few older branches have a maximum of 3 students per class due to space constraints. 3 students is the maximum in the teleconferencing lessons. Students may request "Man to Man" lessons, but to do this they are required to pay 3-4 times as much as they would for a normal lesson, because they are paying to reserve every space in the class. A single Nova lesson costs around ¥2,000 but may vary with location and the lesson package purchased.

[edit] Voice

Nova also offers what it calls "Voice lessons," although the availability of these lessons depends on the branch. The "Voice Room" is a conversation lounge much larger than the average classroom in Nova, and (in theory) there is no limit on how many students can enter and take part in the lesson. The student may stay in the Voice Room as long as he or she desires due to the unstructured nature of the session. In the Voice Room an instructor leads a guided discussion among Nova students. The purpose of the Voice Room is for instructors to participate as little as possible and to permit the students to practice their language skills in an unstructured environment. Students from all levels are free to participate.

[edit] Other Lesson Types

Nova also has special programs for children, business English, and test preparation (TOEFL, TOEIC). Typically, all these lessons are also 40 minutes long, although they are extended to 80 minutes in the case of business, TOEFL and TOEIC lessons. Weak Point lessons, sometimes refered to as Short Courses, are offered exclusively through Multi-Media and they consist of grammar, comprehension, pronunciation and vocabulary. Each course is broken into three levels of ability (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) with each level comprised of 40 lessons divided evenly between the four different courses.

[edit] Textbooks

In late 2004, NOVA finally began phasing out its QUEST textbooks, a version of the American Streamline series. First published in 1983 it was itself an adaptation of the British textbook "Streamline English" written by Bernard Hartley and Peter Viney. The school also used Peter Viney's video English course Only in America, featuring a young Edward Norton^[22]. It should be noted that Edward Norton was not a NOVA teacher. NOVA currently uses an in-house textbook called "Diplomat" which is designed to be more useful in everyday conversation situations. There are different Diplomat versions for all levels of students which include audio CDs and workbooks.

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[edit] Nova IPO

Nova conducted an initial public offering on November 12, 1996. The Nova Union filed a complaint that the Company was in violation of Japanese exchange laws by falsely stating that there were no unions at Nova, that the company had no pending litigation, and labour relations between the company and its employees were amicable and untroubled. A small number of union members staged several demonstrations in front of Nomura Securities and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.^[23][24][25]

[edit] Drugs

In 1994, after two instructors were arrested on drug charges in August and September, Nova asked all 3,100 instructors to sign an agreement to have a mandatory drug test, the results of which would be reported to the police.^[26][27] The Osaka Bar Association wrote a recommendation that the policy was a violation of the teachers' right to privacy.^[28] Nova claimed consent forms had been received from more than 90 percent of employees. An excerpt from the recommendation reads:

• Employees have a right to privacy, and must not be force to reveal personal information. Though we concede that employees should submit to reasonable stipulated regulations, the examination was tantamount to a criminal investigation and the way the examination was executed was a violation of the teachers’ right to privacy.

• Of course, had the examination been based on the free consent of your employees, there would be no problem with human rights, but the way in which employees were asked to give their consent implied possible dismissal and cooperation with the police. Moreover, the discontent expressed by many of your employees and their protest to this association indicates that they did not sign the forms of their own free will.

According to the union, no instructors were ever required to take a drug test.^[29]

On January 31st, 2007, seven Nova teachers were charged with possession of illegal drugs arising from the arrest of two men in Roppongi on November 19th, 2006.^[30]

[edit] Shakai Hoken (Employees Health Insurance and Pension)

In March 2005, after the General Union filed a complaint, Nova and other English schools in Japan were investigated by the Social Insurance Agency for not enrolling employees in shakai hoken (Employees Health Insurance and Pension). The law stipulates that companies must enroll all full-time workers who have been in Japan for over two months in the system. Payment is split between employer and employee, each paying about half the monthly premium amount.^[31]

In June 2005, Nova amended its working times for instructors and standardized lesson length to 40 minutes, with two minutes either side for lesson planning and student evaluation resulting in a total lesson time of 44 minutes with 15 minutes unpaid time between classes. As a result of changes to working hours, regular non-titled teachers work under 30 hours a week and are ineligible for shakai hoken giving an estimated saving to the company of over one billion yen in annual premium payments. Teachers can register for National Health Insurance (a different system to Shakai Hoken), although this system does not offer coverage for time taken off work due to illness. Nova also offers its own private insurance program.^[7]

[edit] Anti-fraternization policy

After six employees had been fired for violating a clause in their contracts that forbid interactions between students and instructors outside of the classroom, a complaint was filed with the Osaka Bar Association by two employees, one of whom had been dismissed as a result of the policy. The two instructors claimed the policy violated their human rights and argued it was racial discrimination since it only applies to foreigners. The clause in Nova's labor contract states foreign teachers 'should not have a relationship with customers outside the workplace.'^[32]. The Osaka Bar Association subsequently issued a non-binding recommendation that the company drop the clause saying that it restricted instructors' freedom of association and discriminated between foreign and Japanese staff.^[33]. The company said the clause is there 'protect both the teachers and the students from trouble, as they do not know each other's cultures and customs'^[34].

On December 11, 2005, an Australian who had been teaching in an Osaka Nova branch reached an out-of-court settlement of ¥400,000^[35] and a letter of commendation after claiming that the policy had interfered with his life. The teacher had been demoted and transferred to another school branch in 2004 when Nova found out he had a relationship with a 21-year-old student.^[36]

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[edit] Government intervention

[edit] Concerns about refund policy

On 14 February 2007, the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducted on-the-spot inspections at Nova Headquarters in Osaka and several other branches.^[37] Officials said that several Nova schools failed to give full refunds to students who canceled their remaining lessons after paying in advance. Other clients said that Nova refused to accept unconditional cancellation of lessons, claiming the eight-day "cooling-off" period had expired, and had also deceived students by giving false information about their cancellation procedures.^[38][39][40]The Kyoto Consumers Contract Network NPO also expressed similar concerns.^[41] Reductions in the number of teaching staff since 2004 had created a situation where students found it increasingly difficult to schedule classes, precipitating a substantial increase in complaints.^[42] During the February office inspections the Ministry discovered a memo in which Sahashi stated there was no need to stop pushing sales despite difficulties meeting student reservations due to teacher shortages.^[43] Consumer centers nationwide received more than 1,000 complaints and queries regarding Nova annually^[44]and The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan says it received some 7,600 complaints or inquiries about Nova's contract and cancellation policies between 1996 and March 2007.^[45] Under Nova's system, students bought points in advance to pay for their lessons. The larger number of points they bought, the smaller the individual class fee became. The case taken to the top court involved a former student who had purchased 600 points at a rate of 1,200 yen per lesson. The student canceled the contract after using up 386 points, but Nova offered a refund based on a calculation that 300 points were bought, resulting in a price of 1,750 yen per lesson.^[46] Nova said the value of the used points should be calculated as having been bought in smaller lots.^[44]

The Asahi Shimbun cites an example of a contract for 100 lessons, which would cost 230,000 yen in advance, for a per-lesson fee of 2,300 yen. A contract for 600 lessons would require an advance payment of 720,000 yen, or 1,200 yen per class. But if a person with a contract for 600 lessons canceled after taking only 100 classes, Nova would apply the fee of 2,300 yen per lesson, and the student would receive a refund of 490,000 yen. Such students say the contract for 1,200 yen per lesson should have applied in these cases, which would result in a refund of 600,000 yen.^[40]

[edit] Supreme Court appeal rejected

On 4 April 2007, Nova's appeal on two lower court rulings was rejected by the Supreme Court which described Nova's refund policy as invalid and in violation of specified commercial transaction law.^[47][48] The ruling prompted the Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry to revise the regulations for the specified commercial transaction law to prevent a recurrence of trouble.^[49]

On 13 June 2007, LDP Lower House member Yasuhide Nakayama acknowledged he was accompanied by Sahashi and vouched for the company during a meeting with Osaka Mayor Junichi Seki on the morning of 22 May 2006, during the court dispute over the company's refund system. Nakayama, who was elected from an Osaka constituency (of which Sahashi is a member of the lawmaker's support organization) recalled saying at the time that it was "not right by social norms that Nova's refund rule is unacceptable" and explained "it is a politician's job to help out when a supporter is in trouble." Nakayama stated it was not his intention to exert pressure and Mayor Seki said he did not think the judgment of city officials was swayed by the lawmaker's visit.^[46]

Industry minister Akira Amari also admitted on 22 June 2007 that he met with Yasuhide Nakayama earlier that year in February shortly after his ministry began investigating the school. Nakayama sought a meeting with Amari to express concern that the ministry might discipline the school over its fee discount system. Amari stated that Nakayama did not try to sway him from punitive action.^[50]

[edit] Business restrictions imposed

On 13 June 2007, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry imposed a six-month ban on Nova from soliciting, accepting or finalizing new contracts for long-term courses that last for over a year or 70 hours.^[51][52] The ban was imposed because of issues regarding refunds for the cancellation of contracts.^[53] The six months suspension order did not affect those who had already signed up for lessons, meaning that Nova's students were able to continue taking classes.^[52]

The ministry also said that Nova failed to comply with a "cooling-off" system provided for in the specified commercial transaction law. Under this system, consumers can cancel a contract without conditions if the cancellation is made within eight days from when the contract was signed. At Nova, potential students first registered their name, address and other data before finalizing their contracts. An official application to the school was made several days later, after the details of the contract are decided upon. Nova told students who wanted to quit that they could not use the cooling-off system, claiming that the day students registered their data was the first day of the contract.^[44]. Ministry officials were quoted as saying that the actions of Nova were "organized and malicious".

On 15 June 2007, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that Nova's English language courses would no longer qualify for government subsidies for those engaged in educational training authorized by the welfare ministry to improve the abilities of the unemployed and other people. In 1999, Nova's 32 courses were approved for the subsidies program. In fiscal 2006, about 4,700 people received a total of 560 million yen in subsidies under the program. Since 1999, around 71,000 Nova students received a total of about 16.1 billion yen in such subsidies.^[54] Nova submitted a business improvement plan to the Tokyo government in late June 2007 as required by the METI conditions. Originally instructed to submit the plan on 10 June, Nova postponed the submission until 24 June.^[55] The plan was rejected on the basis that it was lacking in concrete details and the planned improvement measures were deemed "insufficient". Nova was requested to submit an additional report.^[56]

[edit] Events following restrictions

In an interview in the The Daily Yomiuri on 16 June 2007, Sahashi said he was considering offers of capital and business alliances from several companies in various industries, including retail firms, to deal with an expected drop in sales and to restore trust in the company and possibly selling off properties and real estate in Osaka estimated to be worth several billion yen.^[57] A capital alliance would have served to improve its creditworthiness and secure operating expenses.^[58]

In July 2007, Sahashi met with Hideo Sawada, chairman of H.I.S. travel agency, to discuss a financial assistance as well as a business tie-up^[59] but the meeting did not conclude with a decision.^{[60] [61]} Although Sahashi had rejected the possibility of a business affiliation with another English school^[57], Benesse Corporation (parent company of Berlitz Language Schools and provider of home nursing services) announced that it would not be undertaking any business relationship with Nova^[62] and saw no synergy between the two companies.^[63]

Sahashi indicated the company might have issued new shares to strengthen its capital and that Nova management "[would have to] take responsibility," stating the company would set up an internal inquiry and management reform committee to investigate the scandal, consider disciplinary measures of its executives (including himself), and examine how best to avoid scandals in the future.^[54][64] Sahashi also said that the company would not need assistance from financial organizations^[57] During its annual stockholder meeting in June, he apologized for causing the disciplinary action by the government^[64] and told the shareholders, "We'd like to regain your trust as soon as possible". Forty-six shareholders attended, and one shareholder who had apparently lost faith in the current Nova management called on them to resign.^[65] In response to this call, Sahashi refused stating "If I resign, the company will collapse,".^[64] On 14 August 2007 Nova announced and subsequently sold 170,000 new shares on 30 August.^[66]

[edit] Student charges

• (For more information: see Supreme Court rulings against NOVA, METI Report, and Student Refunds)

The Initial Incident

In 1997, NOVA agreed to a proposal by Tokyo Metropolitan Governments Consumers' Damage Relief Committee to repay a total of 3.8 million yen to 18 students who had been unable to redeem their appointment (lesson) tickets. The 18 students claimed they were unable to make lesson appointments when they wanted despite the school's advertisements stating that its students could reserve classes "at any time." According to the students, they purchased hundreds of tickets when they joined the school, but found it impossible to use them all by the expiry date due to inflexible scheduling procedures. The school said the dispute had been the result of a misunderstanding.^[67]

The Current Situation

On February 16, 2007, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducted on-the-spot inspections at Nova Headquarters in Osaka and several other branches. Officials said that several Nova schools failed to give full refunds to students who canceled their remaining lessons after paying in advance. Other clients said that NOVA refused to accept unconditional cancellation of lessons, claiming the eight-day "cooling-off" period had expired, and had also deceived students by giving false information about their cancellation procedures.^[68][69][40] The Kyoto Consumers Contract Network NPO also expressed similar concerns.^[70] Consumer centers nationwide have received more than 1,000 complaints and queries regarding Nova annually.^[44]

Under Nova's system, students buy points in advance to pay for their lessons. The larger number of points they buy in bulk, the smaller the per-class fees. The case taken to the top court involved a former student who had purchased 600 points at a rate of 1,200 yen per lesson. The student canceled the contract after using up 386 points, but Nova offered a refund based on a calculation that 300 points were bought. That meant it cost 1,750 yen per lesson.^[46] Nova said the value of the used points should be calculated as having been bought in smaller lots.^[44]

The Asahi Shimbun cites an example of a contract for 100 lessons, which would cost 230,000 yen in advance, for a per-lesson fee of 2,300 yen. A contract for 600 lessons would require an advance payment of 720,000 yen, or 1,200 yen per class. But if a person with a contract for 600 lessons cancels after taking only 100 classes, Nova applies the fee of 2,300 yen per lesson, and the student receives a refund of 490,000 yen. Such students say the contract for 1,200 yen per lesson should apply in these cases, which would mean a refund of 600,000 yen.^[40]

On April 4th 2007, NOVA's appeal on two lower court rulings was rejected by the Japanese Supreme Court which described Nova's refund policy as invalid and in violation of specified commercial transaction law.^[71][72]

Political Implications

On June 13, 2007, the Asahi Shimbun also reported that LDP Lower House member Yasuhide Nakayamaa accompanied Nozomu Sahashi, Nova's president, to a meeting with Osaka Mayor Junichi Seki on the morning of May 22, 2006, during the court dispute over the company's refund system. Nakayama, who was elected from an Osaka constituency, has acknowledged he vouched for Nova during the meeting. He also recalled saying at the time that it was "not right by social norms that Nova's refund rule is unacceptable." and explained "It is a politician's job to help out when a supporter is in trouble," Nakayama explained. "I never intended to exert any pressure." Sahashi is a member of the lawmaker's support organization and has bought tickets to his fund-raisers. Mayor Seki said he did not think the judgment of city officials was swayed by the lawmaker's visit.^[46]

[edit] Restrictions Imposed by the Japanese Government

On June 13th, 2007, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry imposed a six-month ban on Nova accepting new applications from students who wish to sign contracts for more than one year or 70 hours. The ban was imposed because of issues regarding refunds for the cancellation of contracts. ^[53] The suspension order will not affect those who have already signed up for lessons, meaning that Nova's students can continue taking classes.

The ministry also said that Nova failed to comply with a "cooling-off" system provided for in the specified commercial transaction law. Under this system, consumers can cancel a contract without conditions if the cancellation is made within eight days from when the contract was signed. At Nova, potential students first register their name, address and other data before finalizing their contracts. An official application to the school is made several days later, after the details of the contract are decided upon. Nova told students who wanted to quit that they could not use the cooling-off system, claiming that the day students registered their data was the first day of the contract.^[44]. Ministry officials were quoted as saying that the actions of Nova were "organized and malicious". The ministry has received over 7,000 complaints and inquiries since 1996.^[53]

On June 15, The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that Nova's English language courses will no longer qualify for government subsidies for those engaged in educational training authorized by the welfare ministry to improve the abilities of the unemployed and other people. In 1999, Nova's 32 courses were approved for the subsidies program. In fiscal 2006, about 4,700 people received a total of 560 million yen in subsidies under the program. Since 1999, around 71,000 Nova students have received a total of about 16.1 billion yen in such subsidies.^[54]

In an interview in the The Daily Yomiuri on June 16, 2007, Sahashi said he was considering offers of capital and business alliances from several companies in various industries, including retail firms, to deal with an expected drop in sales and to restore trust in the company. The company is considering selling off properties and real estate in Osaka estimated to be worth several billion yen. Sahashi rejected the possibility of a business affiliation with another English school and said that the company did not need assistance from financial orgnizations.^[73]

Sahashi also said that the company may issue new shares to strengthen its capital and that Nova management "must take responsibility," and indicated that the company will impose disciplinary measures on its executives, including himself, by setting up an internal inquiry panel.^[54]

Template:Main On 27 March 2007, the body of Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-year-old Nova teacher from Brandon near Coventry, was found in a sand-filled bathtub on the balcony of an apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba. Police say the suspect is 28-year-old Tatsuya Ichihashi. Police went to Ichihashi's apartment after Lindsay's flatmates had indicated she had gone there to teach an English lesson, but the suspect managed to escape and has remained at large since.^[74]

[edit] Nova in other media

nova was such a identifiable and recognizable icon of foreigners in Japan that a pornographic movies produced in Japan were named "Mova"

[edit] The NOVA-doctor connection?

Years ago, I worked for NOVA. At the time, I met 2 students at different branches. One was a recovering stroke patient and one was suffering from bi-polar disorder. Both of these students told me they had been advised to study at Nova (specifically) for treatment/recovery. Of course, this is probably coincidental and I personally don't believe there is any NOVA-medical profession connection, but has anyone else heard of cases like this. In addition I have also had a student say they were told to come to NOVA for social interaction after their doctor was helping them get over depresssion.

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[edit] See also

• Gogaku
• Eikaiwa
• GEOS
• AEON
• ECC

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official Company Profile website (in English)
• Nova's English-language recruitment website
• Nova Teacher's Union Movement website (in English)
• Personal website 'truth about Nova'