Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

What happened to the "warrants executed" thread?

I hope everyone gets paid, however I cannot see how, or why, someone would choose to buy stock at 15% up on the current price, especially considering Nova's current situation. They're in a downward spiral which seems unstoppable. Even if they pay teachers, will the teachers return?

I also read that the person in charge of the two offshore funds has been associated with nothing but bad deals and bankruptcies. Has the money actually gone through, yet? Or is it just a scam to keep people going for a few more days?

Anyway, good luck to all those being affected by this. I hope everything works out for you.

"I cannot see how, or why, someone would choose to buy stock at 15% up on the current price, especially considering Nova's current situation."

It's not that hard to fathom, if someone believed the company could be resurrected, or if the physical assets of the company (real estate, etc.) have compelling value. Yes, they would be paying a premium on the shares but if they believed the actual value of the company was, say, 70 yen per share, then it's a bargain even at 35 yen.

I'm not saying NOVA is worth that (really, how would any of us know what NOVA is actually worth?), but it's not strange to pay a premium on shares in order to buyout a company.

It's funny how NOVA's sudden crisis has made financial geniuses out of so many on this forum.

out to the NOVA teachers, not to mention, 56 buildings and hotels/resorts/summer houses, 23 Ferraris in Hawaii and 3 yachts, the one in The Virgin Island is named after his wife!?!?

Right. As I said above, NOVA does have valuable assets (although the Ferraris and Yachts are probably Saruhashi's personal property, not NOVA assets), and those are clearly valuable regardless of NOVA's current business situation.

Also, everyone here keeps harping on the 'inevitable' failure of NOVA. I've got news for you all. It is possible for NOVA to apply for temporary protection from its creditors while it works out a restructuring plan (I don't know the name in Japanese, but in America it's called Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Japan has the same system). If they were to do this they would be allowed to continue operating while keeping their creditors at bay. This could give NOVA the breathing room it needs to survive until the METI sanctions are over. From that point NOVA could conceivably turn their business around, start paying down their debt, and--dare I say it--survive.

I'm not defending NOVA or their past practices. I understand NOVA policy has alienated the foreign staff for years. If NOVA does survive I hope that management is forced to revamp all aspects of their business. But a lot of the information being posted on this forum is so incorrect, and the way you people are actually HOPING for NOVA's failure is misguided, at best. I mean, if you're a NOVA teacher YOU are the one who gets f***** if they fail, right? If I were a NOVA teacher (I'm not, and never have been) I would hope the company survives long enough to pay me, and in the meantime I would be looking for other work. I feel for you if you're in a tight spot, but some of you are truly clueless.

How do I survive? Any suggestions? I'm all ears! NO JOKE!

How do you know what their asset value is? Are you in personal contact with Saruhashi? Have you been pouring over their accounting books? My understanding has always been that their PHYSICAL assets (not the teachers, staff, or students) are substantial. Yes, they are probably selling off some of it as we speak to generate income, but I doubt that you know the yen value of what's left. Your contention that "It may not be "strange to pay a premium on shares to buy out a company", but in Nova's case, I think it is" is pure conjecture.

IF the value is there, then there is nothing strange about paying a premium to buy the company. It's a simple mathematical calculation. If the buying price (35 yen/share) adds up to less than the assets of the company, then it's a no-brainer. Someone will certainly buy in that situation. You may say, 'then why hasn't it happened?' Maybe Saruhashi is still trying to maneuver in order to hold on to the controlling interest. There could be offers on the table as we speak! The point is that we don't know, but you're talking in generalities as if it could not possibly make sense under any circumstances when you yourself don't know the circumstances.

I don't know your situation, but here are some suggestions.

First, although I have stated that it is possible for NOVA to survive, I would suggest assuming that they will not and planning for that eventuality.

Do you want to stay in Japan if NOVA goes belly-up? If so, start looking for other work NOW. Apply for any and every teaching job you see. Check out gaijinpot.com and ohayosensi.com for ads looking for teachers. Once you have secured a new job put in your notice with NOVA. You may end up not getting payed what you are owed, but more important is securing your NEXT source of dependable income. Once you have a new job and a couple of paychecks in the bank you'll look back on your NOVA experience and laugh. They're f***ers, but it's not the end of the world.

If you don't really want to stay in Japan after NOVA then try to secure a plane ticket home now. Ask family or friends to help you out, if you must. Don't suffer needlessly because you're embarrassed to ask for help. You didn't cause this situation, NOVA did. I'm sure your family will understand that and help you get home.

Did I say that the new buyers were necessarily interested in continuing to run NOVA as an English school? I said the PHYSICAL assets (i.e. real estate, get it?) of the company are substantial. If the value of those assets is worth more than the price to buy NOVA then it makes financial sense to buy the company, wind down the actual operations, and SELL THE ASSETS!!! Is that so hard for you to understand?! Buying the company usually entails assuming the debt obligations, but negotiations with the creditors may very well secure a substantial debt write-off (if NOVA owed you 10 million yen, wouldn't you be happy to work a deal that got you back 20% of your money rather than see NOVA implode and get nothing?). Because of the value of the real estate there are many possible outcomes yet of this whole fiasco.

No need to get fiery, tiger. I'm stating my opinions as opinions, not facts. I agree with u entirely regarding your financial logic. Your correct, definitely.

Where our opinions seem to differ, however, is that I just personally believe that the underlying value of the company will not be enough to tempt another company to execute the warrants at 35yen. And no, im not a banker, trader, broker, or whatever. 100% non-expert opinion.

My point was, NOVA ENGLISH is good as dead! A message for those, that cling to the castle in the sky! Believing a miraculous survival or a turn over of the school itself! Don't forget some of the teachers are 18, 19, 20 year olds that just got off the boat! Full of life, young and vibrant, challenging to ...... you kwow what i want to say! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ who really cares

Anger turns to laughter/smile/smirk, feeling odd, ..... then silence ...................................... emptiness.

well done! bit of a genius yourself, eh? you have the balls to call people here clueless but what sort of advice is that, apart from uselessly obvious?

followed by the unstoppable tears.

...most companies apply for bankruptcy protection before they get to the point not being able to pay even their staff.

Regardless of what happens to Nova, Sahashi and his management crew dont deserve to be allowed to run a business.

Just checked my account. No pay there. Not unexpected though. I'll call the 29th as the new day..

I just want to clarify, 900 schools did not close in september. The article says OVER 50 schools closed in October (in Japanese). The way the editor wrote the article, it makes it sound like 900 schools closed... and, no, that's the total number of schools out there. I heard that the number of closed schools was much higher than this... perhaps they disclosed that information to prevent scare from the students?

This is a great learning experience - I'm thinking of writing a book called "How Not To Run A Company, or, How I Killed The Bunny" under a pen name (maybe Mon Kee Brijj). Anyway, judging from what I've heard, I'm thinking that in the Osaka area there must be only one or two schools still operating at regular capacity.
That reminds me - I have a question - anyone know the possibility of bringing about a class action lawsuit specifically against that moron Sahashi regarding professional negligence / liability? I'll be damned if he gets away with this farce.

Well, your logic doesn't make much sense, considering Nova doesn't have a lot of assets. All they have is debt, lots and lots of debt. They are renting most, if not ALL, of their schools. How is that an asset? How is it so hard for you to understand that Nova has no assets?

What Nova's doing is downright irresponsible. This hasn't gotten any decent media attention, in my opinion, that it deserves, considering that Nova employs around 5000 foreigners, & who knows how many Japanese staff. I suggest that we bring our plight to the attention of the media in our respective countries. Maybe if a lot of us contact the media, it will force Saruhasi and/or the Japanese government to do whatever is necessary to right the wrongs that have so far been done, & force the industry as a whole to improve the way it does business.

For all of us:
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/exchange/ireports/topics/forms/breaking.news.html

For US citizens:
NBC: email to Nightly@NBC.com

ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3428117

CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/
(scroll down to bottom of page, click on Contact Us)

Obvious, yes. But still good advice. The guy sounded desperate. Maybe he isn't seeing the obvious even though it's right in front of him.

They rent much of the space they use, of course. But they also OWN prime real estate in several locations. This is public info. It has been talked about in the news. Just last month they sold some land in Shinjuku to help pay staff.

The notion is that a deal could be worked whereby creditors agree to write-off some of the debt, the sale goes through and creditors are paid (the lesser amount they agreed to), Saruhashi looses his company but is absolved of the debt burden (and maybe even gets enough leftover to continue living comfortably), and the new owners of 'NOVA' gut the company and sell the real estate (or keep it and manage it) for a nice profit.

You people just don't want there to be any solution to this mess, but there will be one. Even if NOVA goes bankrupt the selling off of the assets will determine whether you get paid or not (don't hold your breath).

A report says that even the lawyers have dumped Nova - due to Monkey Business

The reason for the lawyers cancelling the contract is that they can't contact Monkey Bridge.

It is so funny, because the lawyers know all the dirty deeds Nova has gotten up to over the years.

Now they have jumped ship

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Sp200710240285.html

if yer not a troll that is..and in osaka...i can make you something.

WARNING!DANGER!EXTREME course of action-1.Blatantly do a job that is not covered by your visa
2.Get caught by immigration.
3.GET DEPORTED-free plane trip home!Remember,that would be it for coming to Japan until it's turned into an amusement park/cat house by rich Chinese consortiums in 2026.I`m basically joking,but...

Manage to make a salad this morning, after cycling around my neighborhood in the middle of the night, found some vegetables at some fields by the road. Need some dressing, just joking, trying to keep my spirits up or I'll go nuts! I'm out in the edge of Saitama, School closed down and feeling isolated(only teacher!). Can't get through to the manager past couple of days, except for the answering machine, left a couple of messages though! Wondering if she understands my English!?!? Think I'll go down to the Yokado near the station, get some free chow at the food tasting section, they call it "shishoku kona" here! Check out the school....... I just need some info man! I'll survive, and thank again buddy!!!!!

Conflicting info? abounds about 2 issues: 1. Whether Nova really received a huge cash injection of about 600 billion yen, or not, (which would allow them to survive in some form) or was it really 70 million...../or was it....??? What the hell was it???

2. Whether the Werewolf/Dementor (Lundman)) resigned BOTH his Board position AND his position as so-called Director of so-called Education, or whether he still retains #2 title/position...which we all know was really Director of Lies & Terror.

Anybody know what's really goin' on...?

You're a lucky man to have your wife picking up some slack that way. and yes, the rent thing is criminal in my books, too. Do you wonder if the money called "tax" was actually paid to the government, or if it went into their general fund, too? Some of these teachers might find down the road that they have unpaid taxes.

"How in the world can a human being be so totally stupid??!?!"

Didn't 56,000,000 people vote for George W. Bush the second time?

Are you serious? I'm not sure they'll deport you before they imprison you for a while. Criminal records are not good, especially for immigration to many countries. It's really awful that you can't afford to eat, but isn't there anybody that could get you a ticket home without resorting to getting yourself arrested?

Or are you pulling our legs?

Trying to trust someone isn't stupid. That's how we find out, "What truth is!"

i am angry that its come to this..people not eating for gods sake...it doesnt MATTER how its gotten to this point..it isnt like home with family and friends and systems in place for people.

i am "lucky" in that i got tons of food in my house..(i buy it, but then am too lazy to make anything with it..so i usually got bento or 100 yen mackers when i am at work) and i got enough cash for 2 months rent...plus friends and family who'll spot me 100 bones here and there.

man..youre better off at work if its open..you will probably get some sympathy and some home-cooked dinners if you have decent students..but yes yes! free samples! DONT BE SHY!

good luck..get home if you can..contact the embassy..they gotta do something if its that bad..they work for you!

Deals with 4 Nova executives quitting, Nova getting the 70mil yen from the sale of the warrants, and a special executive meeting on the 26th to discuss the worsening situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGBMsJUlzO8

The chances of NOVA suddenly being saved by a shrewd, bargain-hunting investor are now essentially nil. Saruhashi effectively dashed that hope months ago, when he refused to step down, saying the company would collapse without him.

Some students have actually suggested, without much conviction, that the Japanese government might step in, to mitigate the blow to consumer confidence that this debacle is likely to inflict. Sure, nobody cares about this particular industry; but the whole world is watching to see when Japanese consumers will start spending again (after more than a decade of deflationary doldrums) and the untimely demise of a household-name company is likely to further dampen hopes of a return to growth in the non-export sector of the economy. The fact that it was METI, charged with protecting Japanese consumers, which precipitated this crisis by putting the brakes on NOVA's breakneck expansion plans (which undoubtedly would have led to the company's implosion sooner or later), should argue for a government role in ensuring that hundreds of thousands of customers and thousands of employees don't walk away from this feeling seriously burned and utterly disgusted with Japanese officialdom for failing to deal with NOVA's blatantly dishonest business practices much sooner.

At this point, it's probably a wast of time to continue venting rage at Saruhashi et al. If he is not already dangling from the chandelier of his luxury-hotel hideout, he should be in the hands of police fairly soon, facing charges for defrauding a large swathe of the trusting public and bilking thousands of his loyal staff (teachers included) out of their rent and wages (and insurance payments, if rumours are to be believed). The focus now should shift to the government, segments of which were undoubtedly, if somewhat indirectly, complicit in NOVA's crimes. METI, as noted above, should have handled these matters in a more timely, and less devastating, fashion. The Ministry of Justice, which issued all those hundreds of visas to unwitting would-be instructors, should have been aware of the state of the company and should have declined to bring so many foreigners into such an untenable situation. And the Labour authorities should have been enforcing Japanese labour laws, instead of waiting for a marginalized union (whose existence NOVA has never even acknowledged, and which was almost completely unknown to most employees until this mess came to a head) to force them to do their jobs. Even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs looks bad in all of this, for apparently endorsing Saruhashi's delusional "mission" to internationalize the Japanese people through his "Intercultural Communication Foundation", with its "Communicative Ability Test" (clearly designed to deceive people into believing that studying at NOVA would lead to some sort of meaningful qualification). (See this link from MoFA to find Saruhashi taking pride of place in this bogus foundation:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/annai/shocho/koeki/ibunka_meibo.html)

So, what can the government do now? Of course, a bailout is out of the question. There's no sense in saving Saruhashi from the mess he has created by handing him the cash he has already broken countless laws to acquire (all in vain). But if the government is looking to deflect charges that it has been remiss in protecting the public, and somehow involved in NOVA's ongoing campaign of lies, it should consider taking some drastic action. Perhaps, for a period of two or three months, it could take over the company, ensuring that employees get their wages and property owners get their rent, so that students can continue to receive their lessons. Then, once the situation has stabilized, the government can sell the company to a reputable investor, perhaps at a profit (thereby lessening the burden on taxpayers). Of course, if the industry is so fundamentally flawed that it's a waste of resources trying to save its biggest operator, then let it die. But I strongly suspect that once the dust settles, demand for foreign language instruction will remain strong, and there will still be money to be made. It's just a question of having competent, honest management.

I don't know if this is at all doable. I know that if there is no precedent for this sort of action, and no formal mechanism to make it happen, then it simply won't fly. But for what it's worth, I thought I'd float the idea, to see what kind of response it gets. So, what do you think?

Right outside the arrivals gate!

Against Fire dept. restrictions (law) Residential vs Commercial. Unless NOVA starts "NOVA HOTELS" (Sounds good?!) and gets permit for it! Oops! Might give Sahashi some new ideas!

It is a problem when the president has disappeared. One might even think he has disappeared as creditors find out the assets have transfered to him.

Remember, if he has done nothing legally wrong, he still has a fortune from stock sold over the years.

So he might have messed up the company, but he is set (not saying it is fair, but hey that is life). Embaressing yes, end of the world (for him), no..

However, if he has stolen some assets, he will be nailed for fraud. And that could get nasty (though he does seem like a total SOB, so I assume he was smart enough to park most of the assets overseas)..Then again, if it is fraud and he wants to take the money, run and not go to jail, he will run off to any country that does not have a prisoner treaty with Japan...

The Dude

You got me thinking. It makes me sick everytime I have walked into Nova and seen all that usgai crap, bags, books, key chains etc at the entrance. So much money wasted over the years and now they can't pay us. If ever we do get paid I am now searching the net trying to purchase a flame thrower to make sure a few branches that have given me grief over the years never see the light of day again.

as for the usagi meat today...well it's definitely off.

I shredded an entire copy of a diplomat zone 5 textbook this afternoon. It felt great but I know I need help..

I've already made plans to sell myself on the corner outside of the train station. With any luck, I will be in the next edition of Manga at your nearest internet cafe. I promise that once I'm rich, I'll pay all of your salaries. But you have to buy the copy of Manga with me in it first. You'll know me by my catch phrase, "Watashi wa good time desu" :-)

The idea of thousands of jobless foreigners dumpster-diving all over the country probably has the Diet boys' club on edge, but I doubt they'll step in to save Nova's bacon. I agree that a federal takeover would be the cleanest, most logical solution. I don't think they'll be ready, able or willing to though, even with the special circumstances of Nova's collapse.

Since the bubble burst back in the early '90s, Japan has only seen some superficial economic recovery.The national debt is so enormous that no-one is sure of its exact size. Most Japanese banks are little more than wards of the state that can only offer interest on the far right of the decimal. Bad loans dating back to the 60s account for most of this trouble -- Japan's post-war 'economic miracle' relied heavily on dodgy lending practices, the fallout from which has been suffocating the economy for almost 20 years.

Lots of bad loans means an equal number of dead or dying businesses. In Japanese banking, keeping good faith with customers sometimes means turning a blind eye to loan delinquency. In this way, a lot of companies that would have been swiftly shut down for loan defaults in the west can hang on in a kind of limbo in Japan. There are thousands of these undead businesses staggering around out there in a kind of pre-bankruptcy limbo.

The Koizumi administration was just starting to make some progress toward putting these hangers-on out of their misery when Abe and his old-guard cronies swanned into office and promptly dropped the ball. In a return to traditional LDP style, the reforms begun by Koizumi were buried by a mudslide of scandal and political inertia. The one legacy of milquetoast Abe's rich-boy cabinet is a pong of effete, nationalistic hubris that will only get stronger under current PM Fukuda.

So, the economy is presently clogged with marauding bands of cash-munching zombie companies, a fresh swell of unnecessary and grotesquely expensive construction, and the usual googleplex of government-funded boondoggles.The connective tissue of this beast is the rampant croneyism that sank Japan Inc. in the first place.

The money game is played by such radically different (read: corrupt) rules here that it cannot even rightly be called capitalism. From small town construction cartels manipulating bids for gov't projects to the cabal of U. of Tokyo grads at the Bank of Japan that shovel cash to a plump, pampered bureaucracy, cash flow here depends less on textbook economics than social status. Feudalism never really packed it in here -- the samurai and merchants just learned to combine forces to screw the peasantry out of their hard-earned pensions.

With this background in mind, Nova will not get a gov't bailout for the following reasons:

1. Saruhashi is a plebe. Yes, he has (had?) powerful connections, but Nova's demise is too messy and Saruhashi's social standing too recent and tenuous for any real players to stay on his team. In the eyes of the old-school cadres, Saruhashi is a nouveau-riche bumpkin from Osaka who overextended himself. Hang him out to dry...

2. Japan has been having a mild flashback to war-era mistrust of foreigners the past few years, so it would be politically unfashionable to float any tax money to such a visible company with butter-stinky foreign associations. Ol' Taro didn't spend his life spraying shit on rice fields to be a sugar daddy for a bunch of layabout gaijin!

3. Nova teachers are typically middle-class westerners with the financial resources and education to bail themselves out of a situation like this. The well-qualified and Japan-infatuated will stay, and the rest will leave. This situation would be preferable from a gov't standpoint to going through the trouble of restructuring a company full of once-bitten, twice-shy foreigners.

4. There are so many other companies in dire straits that the gov't simply can't or won't make Nova a priority. There are far bigger fish to fry. Better to let Nova burn out and let some fresh sleaze into the eikaiwa arena. The new companies that will inevitably fill the gap left by Nova will give the economy a semblance of life as well.

5. It's not worth it financially. If Nova had anything of value left, it would've been snapped up by a vulture fund months ago. They rented most of their office space and ran under a huge monthly burden for payroll, advertising, office sundries, etc. It is beyond repair.

That said, it will probably be on the news tomorrow that the GOJ is pouring billions into the company. That's why I love Japan, surprise after surprise...

Cheers,

mr.horse

Sahashi is a fucking cunt aarrrgghhhh

I'm probably just stating the obvious here but NOVA cannot recover from this. They have betrayed their largest assest of all, the foreign teachers. This basically means that no teachers will apply to work at NOVA anymore. Also, everyone in Japan knows that NOVA is a deadbeat company now and if they somehow reopen for business, who in their right mind would take classes with NOVA. They are also in massive debt, around 45 million dollars I believe. With thousands of teachers still needing the last 3-5 months pay, overdue rent on NOVA schools and all the schools being closed as of today, things look pretty much dead for NOVA. As for the employees of NOVA, it's a shame that they had to suffer. The best thing to do now is look for a job asap or go back home to your own country any way you can. Do not hope that NOVA will give you anything more except a headache. Best of luck.