Word: sahashi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Nova, started by CEO Nozomu Sahashi in 1981, grew into a publicly listed chain with over 900 locations at its peak, dominating Japan's $1.7 billion foreign-language-education industry through discount lesson offers and a sassy, ubiquitous ad campaign. In 2006, as many as two-thirds of Japan's foreign-language students were enrolled at Nova. But things started to unravel for the company in April, after the Supreme Court ruled that its prepaid tuition scheme, under which students bought thousands of dollars in lessons up front and received only partial refunds in the event of cancellations, was illegal...
...closure has left teachers suddenly adrift in a strange land. Many, like Steele, have taken to the streets, leading demonstrations against Nova and Sahashi and holding press conferences denouncing the company. On Nov. 2 former Nova employees announced a lessons-for-food program, which would allow students to pay for classes in meals and groceries. Meanwhile, some airlines have offered discount flights home for cash-strapped teachers, while embassies have opened hot lines to aid their stranded citizens. The out-of-work teachers have glutted the local labor market, causing other schools to stop accepting job applications. "The market...
...troubles for Nova don't end there. Court-appointed lawyers investigating the case allege that Sahashi, who has been fired by the board and hasn't been seen in public since June, had turned his company into something of a personal piggy bank; they accuse him of misappropriation and aggravated breach of trust. (Sahashi's representative has filed a petition rebutting these allegations.) On Oct. 30, the lawyers invited reporters to check out Sahashi's lavish office at the company's Osaka headquarters, complete with a fully stocked wet bar and a hidden bedroom and sauna. "I wanted to show...
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