In Japan, Teaching English for Food

TIME

For many college graduates from English-speaking countries, spending a few months in Japan teaching English is a time-honored tradition. But after Nova shut the doors of its more than 800 locations worldwide last week, that tradition is looking precarious. The closure has left over 300,000 Nova students deprived of their prepaid English lessons, and many of its 5,000 foreign language teachers, like Steele, unlikely charity cases.

Nova, started by CEO Nozomu Sahashi in 1981 upon his return from studying in Paris, grew into a publicly listed chain with over 900 locations at its peak. But things started to unravel for the company in April, after Japan's Supreme Court sided with a former student who sued the school over tuition refunds. Its rapid expansion had been funded largely through a prepaid credit system, where students bought thousands of dollars' worth of lessons up front and received only partial refunds in the event of midterm cancellations. A subsequent government investigation led to a partial suspension of Nova's operations, at which point hundreds of thousands of students demanded a refund on their prepaid tuition. The result was the equivalent of a bank run: as students rushed to close their accounts, the company fell some $380 million in debt and in October filed for corporate rehabilitation, the Japanese equivalent of chapter 11 bankruptcy. This has made it impossible for Nova's creditors — mostly students and teachers demanding tuition refunds and unpaid wages — to collect their money. For the unsuspecting teachers, this has meant a crash course in Japanese labor law. Several have taken to the streets, leading demonstrations against Nova and Sahashi, while others have held press conferences accompanied by teachers' union representatives — Kristen Moon, a freshly arrived American, even appeared dressed as Nova's corporate mascot, a pink bunny rabbit that has become famous through Nova TV commercials aired across Japan. Some airlines have offered discount flights home for cash-strapped teachers, while embassies have opened hotlines to aid their near-homeless citizens. Former Nova employees last week announced a "lessons for food" program, which would allow students to pay for lessons in meals and food items. Meanwhile, the sheer number of out-of-work teachers has glutted the local labor market for English instruction, causing other language schools to stop accepting applications.

The troubles for Nova don't end there. A report by court-appointed lawyers investigating the case alleges that founder Sahashi — since fired by the board and currently in hiding — had turned his company into something of a personal piggy bank, lining his pockets through such ruses as buying teaching equipment from affiliated companies and selling them to Nova students at grossly inflated prices. He is also suspected of insider trading, misappropriation and aggravated breach of trust.(Sahashi's representative has filed a petition refuting such claims.)

On Oct. 30, one government lawyer invited reporters to check out the lavish office at Nova's Osaka headquarters — complete with a fully stocked wet bar and a hidden bedroom and sauna. "Sahashi is still attempting to sell company shares in hiding. I wanted to show the extent of his misdeeds," said Osaka attorney Toshiaki Higashibatake, who organized the event. Under Japanese corporate law, Nova can stay intact if it can find sponsors to underwrite its current business. But the company is losing money so rapidly — its market value has been halved since filing for bankruptcy — that the search for financial sponsors has been rushed, with proceedings expected to conclude later this week. If it fails to find sponsors for a bailout, Nova faces liquidation.

HAHAHA!

GEOS FOOLS LACK THE WISDOM!

http://www.letsjapan.org/shawn/2010/04/21/the-geos-fallout-begins.html

If you saw the GEOS press conference on TV this evening, one thing was very conspicuous by its absence: Kusunoki wasn't there. In his place was Kazumi Suhara giving the bad news.
According to the Jiji Press, Kusunoki didn't attend because he wasn't prepared to file for bankruptcy while some of his executives were. A GEOS lawyer at the press conference said that due to divisions within the company, bankruptcy proceedings went ahead without the consensus of the board.
Oh to have been a fly on the wall at GEOS for the past few months...
With GEOS gone, here comes the fallout. Stop me if you've heard this one before:

The fate of Geos teachers, meanwhile, is uncertain, even though G.communication says it will try to hire them.
Brian Gilliland, who works about five hours a day three to four days a week teaching corporate customers for Geos, said he hasn't received his pay for the first half of April and hasn't heard from Geos whether he will get his salary.
"Last night I got a call around 9:30 and I was told my class tomorrow will be canceled," Gilliland, who has no other source of income, said. "This month, my classes finished, and I was ready for new classes. They said there are a bunch of classes starting in April, but I only had one class in April.
"Basically you can't teach here anymore. Salary is going down and there is no work," he said, adding that he is looking for a nonteaching job as he speaks Japanese.

The Yomiuri Shinbun also got into the act noting how the end came swiftly without the knowledge of the teachers or students. The article notes that the lights at the GEOS Umeda school in Osaka were off, which came as a surprise to a 54 year-old housewife who was shocked to learn of the bankruptcy and closure of the school. The staff had told her that everything was alright. She had paid 130 thousand yen in lessons for the rest of the year.
The doors at the Namba school were also closed. An American who had worked at GEOS for the past year and a half found out about the bankruptcy when he showed up for work only to find the school closed.
A young woman who had been going to the Namba school for the past five years had just paid 250 thousand yen in lesson fees. She doesn't know if she can get a refund or she she'll be able to transfer to another school, but she does know that she wants GEOS to contact her and tell her what's going on.
At the JR Sannomiya Higashiguchi school in Kobe, the windows have been papered over so no one can see in. A teacher posts a sign saying that the school is closed Wednesday and Thursday. A Japanese staff member says she knows nothing and wants to cry.
Although G.communication is allowing students to transfer to Nova schools, the closure of so many GEOS schools is going to be a sore point with many students. Can demands for refunds and lawsuits be far behind?

It doesn't sound like its very good over there for teachers at the moment, Rice.

It doesn't sound like its very good over there for teachers at the moment, Rice.

-thenarrator

It hasn't been good for Engrish Teacher in Japan since about 1950.

Rice I tried posting a similar opinion on GaijinPot but the inane paranoid admins deleted it. They make so much revenue advertising English schools over there and telling everyone how great it is by salting the mine with their own "opinions" that a lot of people can't see past the facade of "WONDERFUL LIFE IN JAPAN TEACHING ENGLISH" and go over there to end up penniless and desperate. I have no sympathy for these English teachers but...because winter is coming I thought I could help out those English teachers in Japan who are having trouble finding their dream job:

Twill Be a Harsh Winter - Unemployment Tips for English Teachers in Japan Who Want to Find Work

I thought I could do some good for the teachers out there who will be having a hard time in the next few months and deciding whether to go to the Embassy for that return plane ticket loan thingy.
Oooh Aaah! 

Startin' to get cold out there..
What are the ways to make the Winter less harsh when those ESL classes don't come through and that big job in the big shiny building don't come through?
Well, some of you may be guessing you better throw a rock through that [insert food chain in Japan here] window to get a nice warm cell and a tray of piping hot ole' Lady assmeat and cold rice that they serve to the prisoners.
Kobe beef for me though..

Good Luck Everyone! <--- Note the capitalized G L and E!

Hilarious Harry - very funny.

The situation for teachers has been bad for some years now. This guy CANADIANOFTHECOAST is correct about the situation now but if you think about it, it hasn't been really any good for a decade or more.

 

Step 1.
Don't do it.
Step 2.
Work at home doing your normal job, and get better at it.
Step 3
Save Money
Step 4
Come to Japan with the money and avoid working at the scumbag Engrish schools in Japan, while you meet your J friends and talk to them in the Engrish.
Congratulations, you have become an Engrish teacher in Japan without having to go through dealing with scumbag fucks who wouldn't be able to work as a janitor at home but make big success in Japan sucking in people who dream of teaching the Engrish there and who work in the Engrish teaching business as managers and who tell you the big stories about how good it is to work in suit all day for 50 yen and change.
GAIN THE WISDOM FOOLS!

-willkill4rice

You always have the Wisdom, Uncle Rice. It must be all that Wisdom Juice you drink from the breasts of Tokyo Virgins, right?

I tried posting a similar opinion on GaijinPot but the inane paranoid admins deleted it. They make so much revenue advertising English schools over there and telling everyone how great it is by salting the mine with their own "opinions" that a lot of people can't see past the facade of "WONDERFUL LIFE IN JAPAN TEACHING ENGLISH" and go over there to end up penniless and desperate. I have no sympathy for these English teachers but...because winter is coming I thought I could help out those English teachers in Japan who are having trouble finding their dream job:
Twill Be a Harsh Winter - Unemployment Tips for English Teachers in Japan Who Want to Find Work
I thought I could do some good for the teachers out there who will be having a hard time in the next few months and deciding whether to go to the Embassy for that return plane ticket loan thingy.
Oooh Aaah! 
Startin' to get cold out there..
What are the ways to make the Winter less harsh when those ESL classes don't come through and that big job in the big shiny building don't come through?
Well, some of you may be guessing you better throw a rock through that [insert food chain in Japan here] window to get a nice warm cell and a tray of piping hot ole' Lady assmeat and cold rice that they serve to the prisoners.
Kobe beef for me though..
Good Luck Everyone! <--- Note the capitalized G L and E!
-capnharry

Hi Harry. May I borrow this expression? Well, I believe I already have. I also saw that on the pot and loved it! I tried to join the Pot back in the early days (ie almost 10 years ago) but they wouldn't have me - I fell out with one of the admins very early on and was banned, but it's nice to see you found The Tokyo Forum just as I did (but years later friend). I love eating Wagyu/Kobe and I love telling as many as I can. You have to be able to boast about something if you are as old as me and have worked as hard in your younger days. Well, you seemed to have had some bad luck friend but don't worry because you have captured the spirit of a lot of the long faced gaijins I see walking around Tokyo my friend  There is some truth to what you say, perhaps more than you know and the salad days are gone friend. Tell me, are you in the English business yourself? If so, tell us how it's going? As for the long winter words you give, you are a poet ! Tell us how long you have been in Tokyo? And to those shochu drinkers out there - have fun drinking your shochu while I sample my fine Suntory whisky and eat the Kobe beef.

PEACE
TOKYO JOE

I have decided to publish my own thoughts on the english industry in japan reality for 99 percent of the people who come here to teach.

source: me + years of experience.

http://sleepny.lefora.com/2011/08/12/if-you-come-to-japan-expecting-to-make-money-teach/