The Osaka Labor Bureau sent papers to prosecutors Monday on failed English language school operator Nova Corp. and its former president, Nozomu Sahashi, on suspicion of violating the Labor Standards Law for failing to pay wages to Nova workers.
According to the bureau, Sahashi, 56, is suspected of failing to pay 105 million yen in wages to 400 Nova workers.
Among the 400, 134 were Japanese staffers who did not receive salaries for September, totaling 33 million yen, and 266 were foreign instructors who received no wages for October, totaling 72 million yen.
Sahashi has claimed his failing to pay wages is not a violation of the law. He was quoted by labor officials as saying, “I feel responsible as the [former] president of the company, but I did what I could do, like putting my own money into the business.”