Nova chain files for bankruptcy

A Hello Work public job placement center in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward set up a window Friday to accept consultations from Nova employees, including foreign teachers.

Nine staff members and three interpreters took charge of the consultations.

More than 20 telephone calls came in the morning alone.

Four people also visited the window, asking such questions as: “How can I get the unpaid wages?” “What procedures should I take to obtain unemployment insurance benefits?” and “Can you find a new workplace for me?”

One of the four was a 24-year-old American who had worked at a Nova school in Tokyo’s Shinbashi for one year as a teacher. He has not been paid since September, and said he wants to live in Japan for three more years.

“What should I do now?” he asked.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200710270106.html