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

Police in Japan are remarkably reactive and don't spend much time or energy working on crime prevention. Besides stopping the occasional cyclist and verifying ownership of said bicycle, offering directions or taking a spin on their scooters, they remain very low-key, but they are a constant presence. The officers are largely relegated to their small community police boxes that are centrally located close to train stations all over the country. The policing approach has been one that is based on police officers maintaining a visible presence. “Patrols are the most important duty for community police officers in that the visible presence of police officers in their uniforms prevents crimes and gives community residents sense of security.” (1)

This type of policing is often a proactive approach, but the general disregard for blatant warning signs and growing unease has led to citizens in Japan, calling for an increased effort to stamp out the causes of crime.

The National Police Agency announced this week that they are enacting a set of regulations based on prevention of crime. The service is committing itself to the documentation of all tips, inquires and consultations. The move comes on the heals of public complaints over the way police officers handle tips from citizens. According to reports, the police had failed to follow-up on tips offered before crimes were committed.

“At present, some police officers do not leave documented records when people come in to report potential crimes, saying the reported incident didn't yet constitute a crime or that the matter was outside their jurisdiction.” (2)

This documentation initiative is a welcome step in community safety, and can only help one of the world's safest nations. If the strategy is adhered to and implemented effectively then the result will likely slightly lower an already low crime rate. It is a step in the right direction and should be followed with more moves towards an increased focus on crime prevention and a pro-active focus.

In many regards, the institution of policing in Japan is not focused on the study of criminology and addressing the underlying issues of crime. The nation is still under the guise of the evil foreigner committing all the crimes.

This is largely apparent in recent reporting on the hit-and-run case in Nagoya, involving suspects carrying Brazilian citizenship when headlines such as “3rd Brazilian arrested over fatal hit-and-run in Nagoya” and “Brazilian arrested over deadly hit-and-run in Nagoya,” (3) were splashed everywhere in the Japanese media. The fact that the suspects were Brazilian had little to do with the story, but soon became the central issue. Only the latest example, where crime perpetrated by foreign residents in Japan is held out as the norm and throughly reported by the Japanese media.

Until Japanese society can begin to wrap its collective head around the fact that Japanese citizens commit the majority of crimes and that foreign citizens commit, per capita less crime than the domestic population, there is no sense in studying crime prevention techniques. Occasionally a foreign citizen will be apprehended and convicted of a crime, allowing the domestic population to breathe easy; “Oh another foreigner convicted, the crime rate is rising due to their transgressions.”

Under the new system all interactions with officers will be documented, no matter how minor, and they will be passed on to the relevant section so that it can be handled in an appropriate manner. Police chiefs will be in charge of enforcing the new measure, and if Japanese bureaucratic systems are any example, the new regulations will be religiously followed in every regard. The fact that the National Police Agency is at least paying lip-service to the issue and making small steps in the right direction is to be commended.

(1) http://www.npa.go.jp/english/seisaku1/JapaneseCommunityPolice.pdf
(2) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100219a2.html
(3) http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/79472.php
(4) http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/2788d.html

It took the Consumer Affairs Agency long enough. From the Yomiuri Shimbun:

The Consumer Affairs Agency and the Tokyo metropolitan government on Thursday ordered a Tokyo-based English-language conversation school chain operator to suspend operations due to its coercive method of selling its services to university students and others.

Fortress Japan talked customers into signing contracts for the purchase of English-learning programs, often telling students, "You'll never be able to find work with your current English-language abilities."

The authorities issued the order based on the Specified Commercial Transactions Law.

A consumer organization certified by the prime minister filed a lawsuit last year arguing that Fortress Japan's way of soliciting customers was against the law. Last March, the plaintiff and the company reached the first settlement of its kind in the nation.

There are seven consumer organizations across the nation certified by the prime minister to file lawsuits against companies over aggressive sales schemes. The certifications were introduced to discourage dubious or illegal sales schemes before damages proliferate.

But the authorities said Fortress Japan continued to use unlawful sales practices after the settlement, leading to the stricter punishment by the agency.

According to the news brief released by the Consumer Affairs Agency [PDF], Fortress Japan has been ordered to cease operations for 6 months from February 19 until August 18. During that time, they are not allowed to solicit new contracts, accept applications for lessons, or conclude any contracts.

I previously wrote about Fortress Japan breaking its promise not to be evil, but they just couldn't help themselves. The article offers this example:

Last April, a man in the Kansai region who was then a third-year university student was approached by a female employee of Fortress Japan in front of his university campus. She asked him to fill out a simple survey about English conversation and job-hunting activities.

He wrote his name and phone number on the sheet, and was frequently called about attending an introduction meeting.

He finally agreed to attend a meeting, but ended up being confined in a small room together with a male employee of the company for three hours and was cajoled into signing a contract for lessons.

When the student tried to refuse, the employee looked down at him and demanded he sign the contract, telling him, "You'll never survive in the business world with such a carefree attitude."

Unbelievable. While it's good that the Consumer Affairs Agency put an end to Fortress Japan, consumers need to wise up and grow a backbone.

Remember Fortress Japan? Back in 2008, they were caught stealing a page or two out of Nova's playbook with some underhanded sales tactics. The Kansai Consumer's Support Organization (KCSO) sued, and in 2009, Fortress Japan promised to change its ways and behave.

According to the Sankei shimbun, the KSCO has asked the court in December to force Fortress Japan to pay 1.5 million yen in penalties, claiming that the English school operator broke its promise not engage in unfair sales practices.

The KSCO says that despite Fortress Japan's promise, they still told potential students that they could take lessons any time and pressured them into signing contracts. The consumer group confirmed the practices with three individuals last November and demanded that each person be paid 500 thousand yen each in compensation. Fortress Japan, however, has asked for a reprieve and has not paid the money.

Comment: What else can be said? Fortress Japan is but one example of the persistent rot in eikaiwa. Both the Mainichi and Sankei reported in November last year that complaints about the way eikaiwas (self-improvement seminars, certification courses, and computer schools were also mentioned) did business were rising. Specifically, the Sankei article reports that a typical tactic is to call a customer, usually university students, and tell them they have some useful information regarding their job hunt. Once at the school, the customer is given a guilt trip (you'll never find a job without taking English lessons) and then made to sign a contract.

The rip-off continues...

Sankei article

就活生へ不当勧誘、英会話学校に違約金求め提訴　消費者ＮＰＯ

2009.12.25 11:05

就職活動中の大学生を対象に大阪や東京などで英会話や就職支援の教室を運営する「フォートレスジャパン」（東京）が、不当な勧誘をしないとした裁判上の和解条項を守っていないとして、ＮＰＯ法人「消費者支援機構関西」は２５日、同社に対する違約金１５０万円の強制執行を求める訴訟を大阪地裁に起こした。

訴状などによると、消費者支援機構関西とフォートレス社は今年３月、不当勧誘差し止め請求訴訟で和解。同社は不当勧誘の停止に合意したが、その後も「いつでも受講できる」と虚偽内容を伝えたり、威圧的に契約を迫ったりする不当な勧誘を続けた。

機構側は１１月末、３人に対する不当勧誘が確認できたとして、和解条項に基づき１人５０万円の違約金を請求したが、フォートレス社は猶予を求めるなどして支払わなかったという。

TV news is reporting that Ichihashi has been caught in Osaka. According to the Asahi shimbun, Ichihashi was taken into custody by the Osaka Police after being spotted while trying to board a ferry in Suminoe-ku.

Asahi article

千葉県市川市で０７年３月、英会話講師の英国人女性リンゼイ・アン・ホーカーさん（当時２２）の遺体が見つかった事件で、市橋達也容疑者（３０）＝死体遺棄容疑で指名手配＝と見られる男の身柄が大阪市内で確保された。

大阪府警によると、発見場所は同市住之江区にある南港のフェリー乗り場付近。通行人から「似た男がいる」と通報があったという。同署員が駆けつけ、職務質問したところ市橋容疑者であることを認めたため、身柄を確保したという。住之江署で指紋の照合作業をしている。

千葉県警などのこれまでの調べによると、市橋容疑者は１０月１３日に福岡市内の病院を訪れ、鼻の整形手術を希望したが、予約がなかったことから断られた。同２４日に名古屋市の病院で、数十万円を払って鼻を高くする整形手術を受けた。この際、大阪府内の住所と偽名を記していた。市橋容疑者は、先月まで約１年間、同府茨木市内の建設会社の寮に住み込み、土木作業員として働いていたこともわかっている。

　１０月中旬には福岡市内のインターネットカフェに市橋容疑者とみられる男が訪れていたことが判明しているが、捜査関係者によると、この際、「井上康介」とは別の偽名を名乗っていたという。

Update: The Mainichi Daily News

He was trying to board a ferry bound for Okinawa on Monday, broadcaster TBS said in its evening news program.

In a telephone interview with the broadcaster, Hawker's father Bill Hawker said he was surprised at the news of Ichihashi's apparent apprehension.

"My nightmare is finally over," Hawker said in the interview soon after the news broke.

"I'm now going to contact my wife and my two daughters to tell them this good news, and I very much look forward to seeing Ichihashi across a courtroom so I can look him in the face," Hawker said.

Update 2: YouTube

The man is determined not to be found:

Police on Thursday released a new photo of Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the slaying of a British woman in 2007, that was taken last month at a Nagoya clinic before he underwent cosmetic surgery there but after he apparently had had at least one face-lift elsewhere.

Several facial features have apparently changed — he now has double-fold eyelids, a higher nose and thin lips. Two moles that had been on his left cheek have disappeared as well, according to police.

Ichihashi, 30, is wanted in connection with the murder of Lindsay Ann Hawker, 22, an English teacher.

In another development Thursday, investigative sources said Ichihashi had attempted to undergo cosmetic surgery in Fukuoka Prefecture in mid-October before his Oct. 24 face-lift in Nagoya.

It's been two and a half years since he escaped 9 police officers on foot with no wallet, no mobile phone, and no shoes. How does a person with no money and only the clothes on his back to make it to Nagoya and Fukuoka? He's either being helped (by his parents? I seem to recall them cooperating with police but they have been invisible during the investigation) or has manged to scrape some money together by working the odd job.

It doesn't say much about the effort by the police. Two years after Lindsey Hawker's death, the best the Chiba Police could do is create five measly cardboard models of Ichihashi that play a recording of Ichihashi's voice. Bill Hawker was not amused. While this video doesn't show it, he was upset over the fact that only five of the models existed and knocked one of them over in disgust.

For what it's worth, if you have information, contact the Chiba Prefectural Police at 047-397-0110 or email to gyoutoku@police.pref.chiba.jp. You can also send information here.

Why Ichihashi would resort to cosmetic surgery to avoid capture becomes clearer given the nature of his crime. It has been widely reported that Lindsay's body was found in a bathtub of sand, but an article in The Times last year suggests that's not accurate. He wasn't trying to conceal her body, he was trying to dispose of it.

Again, it was widely reported that she was found in a bath full of sand but this too was wrong. Lindsay had actually been buried in a mixture of sand and compost soil which Ichihashi had soaked in a chemical the Japanese use to compact and decompose waste. The police believe he had simply taken a practical approach to disposing of Lindsay’s body. It would be hard to take her out and hide her so he would keep her there until eventually all trace of her was gone. He had cut her hair off and left it in a bag found in the apartment. Hair is evidently slow to rot.

They can't catch this guy fast enough.

A quick blurb in the newspaper, the Mainichi reports that the three men arrested on suspicion of confining Sahashi in his hotel room have been released.

Apparently the police don't have much of a case on them. At any rate, the thugs caught with Sahashi are probably thinking, "Mission accomplished." They delivered their message.

Mainichi article

ＮＯＶＡ元社長事件：監禁容疑で逮捕の３人釈放　東京地検　

東京地検は１９日、経営破綻（はたん）した英会話学校最大手「ＮＯＶＡ」（破産手続き中）元社長、猿橋望被告（５８）＝業務上横領罪で実刑判決、控訴中＝の監禁容疑で逮捕された指定暴力団山口組系組員（３８）ら３人を、処分保留で釈放した。

警視庁は、９月２８日に東京都中央区のホテル一室で猿橋被告を監禁したとして３人を逮捕した。捜査関係者によると、組員らは警視庁の調べに「一緒にいただけ」などと容疑を否認。猿橋被告もホテル内から外部に電話で連絡を取っていたといい、地検はホテルでのやりとりについて捜査を継続する。

毎日新聞　2009年10月19日　20時42分

According to the Yomiuri shimbun, Nozomu Sahsahi, NOVA's disgraced and convicted ex-president, was confined in his hotel room for three days by gangsters. The police have arrested two men, one who is a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate, in connection with the incident.

Sahashi had apparently traveled to Tokyo, and when his lawyer became unable to contact him over the weekend, he went to the police. The police found Sahashi yesterday afternoon in his hotel room in Nihonbashi where they arrested two men whom they allege held Sahsahi for roughly 3 and a half hours. The men claim that they were merely with Sahashi (and that they didn't hold him against his will).

Many will be disappointed to learn that Sahashi was not injured. The police are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

Assuming it wasn't a social call, one possible reason for the "visit" may have to do with Sahashi's mysterious stock dealings as NOVA crashed and burned around him. Desperate to come up with some cash, he put his shares in NOVA up as collateral only to be swindled out of five million of them. One name that came up in the course of the dealings was Nishida Haruo, who appears to have made a career out of stock manipulation. Perhaps Sahashi owes some bad people some money. Then again, he is arrogant enough that you could not completely rule out him demanding his shares back, either.

Yomiuri article

ＮＯＶＡ元社長を監禁容疑、組員ら逮捕

経営破綻(はたん)した英会話学校「ＮＯＶＡ」（破産手続き中）の元社長で、業務上横領罪に問われた猿橋望被告（５８）（控訴中）を東京都内のホテルに監禁したとして、山口組系暴力団員の男（３８）ら２人が、監禁の疑いで警視庁三田署に現行犯逮捕されていたことがわかった。

同署幹部によると、２人は２８日午前１１時３０分頃から午後３時頃まで、中央区日本橋蛎殻町内のホテルの一室に猿橋被告を監禁した疑い。猿橋被告にけがはなかった。

猿橋被告の弁護士が、猿橋被告と２５日頃から会えなくなったとして同署に相談していた。捜査員が２８日午後３時頃、同ホテルで猿橋被告を保護し、２人を取り押さえた。２人は「一緒にいただけ」と容疑を否認している。同署はほかに共犯者がいるとみている。

猿橋被告は、ＮＯＶＡグループの社員積立金を流用したとして、２００８年６月に業務上横領容疑で大阪府警に逮捕され、先月、大阪地裁が懲役３年６月の実刑判決を言い渡していた。

(h/t to Are they the lemmings)

No surprise here. Sahashi officially filed an appeal of his three and a half year sentence for embezzlement with the Osaka District Court on Wednesday. Typical of his defiance during his trial and ever since he was ousted from NOVA, Sahashi asserted once again that he had acted to prevent NOVA from going bankrupt.

Asahi shimbun

ＮＯＶＡ・猿橋元社長側が控訴

2009年9月3日

経営破綻（はたん）した英会話学校「ＮＯＶＡ」（大阪市）の社員らの積立金３億２千万円を受講生への返還金に流用したとして、業務上横領の罪に問われた元社長猿橋望（さはし・のぞむ）被告（５７）の弁護人が２日、懲役３年６カ月とした大阪地裁判決を不服として控訴した。猿橋元社長は「会社の倒産を防ぐためだった」と無罪を主張していた。

I take back what I said in my last post. It's not over with Sahashi. He was released on bail last night following his sentencing. The Asahi shimbun, among other papers, carried a report of the events in the courtroom yesterday. Here's a summary of that article.

Sahashi wore a dark suit as he stood in front of the judge as his sentence was read. Upon hearing he was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison, he lifted his head slightly and then slumped into his seat as he sat down. Although he was briefly detained after the decision was read, he paid his original bail of ¥50 million plus an additional ¥10 million tacked onto it, and was released later that evening.

NOVA grew from a single school in Osaka in 1981 to to 994 schools in 2005, but after a series of problems with refunding canceled contracts, it went bankrupt in 2007.

When his trial began in June, Sahashi apologized to the students and staff for all of the trouble caused by the bankruptcy of NOVA, but under questioning, he repeatedly stated that he had no choice but to use money in an employee's welfare fund in order to save the company.

Former NOVA staff members who testified at the trial were critical of Sahashi.

A former HR manager who oversaw the employee payroll said that Sahashi kept receiving his high executive salary right up until the bankruptcy and never once offered to return it, and added that taking money from the welfare fund wasn't unavoidable.

Another former staff member in charge of accounting pointed out that NOVA's rapid expansion was causing cashflow problems, but Sahashi was putting the blame on the staff. He apparently told staff in a meeting that if the company went bankrupt, it would be their fault. Sahashi didn't want to offer a blubbering apology like the president of Yamaichi Securities did (when it went bankrupt in 1997).

After listening to testimony during the trial, Sahashi irately told reporters that the facts were wrong and mixed with speculation.

Sahashi's lawyers, who had emphasized that he had poured over ¥600 million of his own money into the company, thought the court's ruling was terrible.

Toyomi Ashida, a 60-year old former NOVA student still waiting for a refund of approximately ¥300 thousand, said that the sentence was fair given that Sahashi selfishly used money that belonged to the employees, but was dismayed that he was no closer to recovering his money.

Many expected the trial would reveal Sahashi's thinking and why NOVA went bankrupt, but were disappointed to only receive a standard apology.

According to lawyers representing a group of former students, roughly 300 thousand students across Japan are still waiting for some ¥56 billion (nearly $600 million USD) in refunds. Ashida and 23 other former students filed a class action lawsuit against Sahashi and NOVA management last October for ¥16 million. They are hoping to question Sahashi went the lawsuit goes to trial.

Sahashi was arrested for embezzlement by the Osaka police last June, eight months after the collapse of NOVA. While he was also investigated for aggregated breach of trust for causing huge losses to NOVA, not enough evidence was found to indict him. NOVA's bankruptcy trustees, however, have long believed that the dealings that caused the loses were shady and filed suit last week seeking ¥2.1 billion in damages.

Comment: That sound you hear is the collective screams of disbelief at Sahashi being released on bail. Sahashi has indicated that he will appeal the ruling, so it's not uncommon for non-violent offenders to be released pending their appeal. More importantly, his legal woes are far from over. Even if he manages to win his appeal and get a suspended sentence, there are two more lawsuits against him. He's going to be in court for a long time. Sahashi has maintained that all he was doing was trying to save the company and repay students and staff, but that money, and hopefully the truth, is now going to be extracted from him the hard way.

Asahi shimbun

ＮＯＶＡ判決　ワンマン手法重視　元受講生「実刑当然」

2009年8月27日

かつて６千人を超す社員や外国人講師を抱え、全国展開を遂げた英会話学校「ＮＯＶＡ」。その経営トップに立ち、社員の積立金を流用したとされる元社長の猿橋望被告（５７）に、司法は「実刑」の厳しい判断を示した。元社長は沈痛な表情で判決を聴き、元受講生からは「当然」との声も上がった。

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「すべて裁判官の前で説明した。あとは正しく判断してもらうことを信じて待つしかない」。昨年７月に保釈保証金５千万円で保釈された猿橋元社長は判決前、周囲にそう語ったとされる。

しかし、裁判長が告げた主文は実刑判決。黒っぽいスーツ姿で直立していた猿橋元社長はわずかに顔を上げ、裁判官席をじっと見据えたが、着席すると肩を落とし、終始うつむいて判決理由を聞いた。約４０分の言い渡し後、いったん勾留（こうりゅう）されたが、２６日夕方、保証金１千万円の追加で再度の保釈が認められた。

８１年、大阪・心斎橋に第１号を開校。「駅前留学」「お茶の間留学」といったキャッチフレーズを打ち出し、０５年には９９４店にまで店舗を広げ、ワンマン経営の組織を作り上げた。だが受講生と解約をめぐるトラブルが続き、資金繰りが悪化し、０７年に破綻（はたん）した。

６月の初公判。元社長は「倒産で多くの生徒や社員に多大なご迷惑をかけたことを深くおわびします」と頭を下げた。だが被告人質問では、社員の積立金を使ったことは会社存続のためやむを得ない判断だったと繰り返した。

組織につかえた元社員らは、証人に立ったこれまでの法廷で元社長を批判した。

社員の給与を管理していた元人事管理課長は「破綻の直前まで高額な役員報酬を受け取り、自ら返上しようとはしなかった。流用がやむを得ないとは思わない」と語った。

元経理課長は「急激な拡大路線で資金繰りが追い付かなくなった」と指摘。元社長が社内の会議で「会社が破綻した場合は君たちの責任だぞ。私は（９７年に破綻した）山一証券の社長みたいに泣くのは嫌だぞ」と発言したという話を明かし、「部下に責任を押しつけた」と述べた。

被告席の猿橋元社長は顔をこわばらせて証言を聴き、閉廷後に「事実とは異なる」「憶測が混じっている」と報道陣に憤ることもあった。

２６日の判決後、個人資産６億円以上を会社に投じたことを強調していた元社長の弁護人は「ひどい判決だ」と不満を述べた。

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実刑判決について、授業料約３０万円が返還されずにいる元受講生で京都市に住む介護施設職員、芦田豊実（とよみ）さん（６０）は「社員の金を勝手に使ったのだから当然だ。ただ、授業料が戻ってくるわけでもなく、むなしい」と話した。

元受講生にどんな思いでいるのか、なぜ会社を破綻させてしまったのかを、元社長が公判でどう語るかに期待していた。「結果的には型通りの謝罪だけで終わってしまった。残念でならない」

元受講生の被害対策弁護団によると、授業料が返還されていない元受講生は全国に約３０万人、その額は約５６０億円にのぼる。芦田さんら元受講生２４人は昨年１０月、元社長を含む当時の経営陣らに授業料など計約１６００万円の賠償を求める初の集団訴訟を大阪地裁に起こした。今後、訴訟で元社長の証人尋問を求めることも検討したいという。

猿橋元社長は破綻から約８カ月後の昨年６月、大阪府警に今回の事件で逮捕された。府警は、元社長が関係先との不当な取引でＮＯＶＡに多額の損害を与えたとみて、特別背任容疑も視野に捜査したが、違法性を裏付ける証拠が集まらず立件は見送られた。破産管財人は今月１９日、この取引をめぐって元社長に約２１億円の賠償を求める訴訟を大阪地裁に起こしている。

I'll keep this short and sweet: The court found Sahashi guilty of embezzling money from NOVA's employee welfare fund and sentenced him to three and a half years in jail.

According to the ruling, on July 20, 2007, Sahashi withdrew ¥320 million from NOVA's shayuukai welfare fund, converted it into cheques, and then deposited the money into an account held by NOVA Kikaku, a company that he controlled.

You will recall that Sahashi admitted to pilfering the fund, but since he was using the money to refund canceled contracts, his lawyers maintained that he did nothing illegal.

The Mainichi article ends with a few factoids about NOVA, the most important being the debts it had:¥86 billion ($913 million USD at current exchange rates). That's money that students and instructors will probably never see again.

The drama surrounding Sahashi is over for now. Three and a half years is probably not nearly enough for those who experienced NOVA's collapse.

Mainichi shimbun

ＮＯＶＡ破綻：猿橋元社長に懲役３年６月　大阪地裁判決

経営破綻（はたん）した英会話学校「ＮＯＶＡ」（破産手続き中）の社員積立金を流用したとして、業務上横領罪に問われた同社元社長、猿橋（さはし）望被告（５７）に対し、大阪地裁（樋口裕晃裁判長）は２６日、懲役３年６月（求刑・懲役５年）の実刑判決を言い渡した。

　判決によると、猿橋被告は０７年７月２０日、ＮＯＶＡグループ社員の互助組織「社友会」の預金口座に積み立てられた３億２０００万円を別口座に入金。同額の小切手に換え、関連会社「ノヴァ企画」の口座に入金し、横領した。

　猿橋被告は公判で「事実関係は間違いないが、社員積立金を使ってはいけないという意識はなかった」と述べ、弁護人は「生徒への解約払戻金を支払うためで、不法領得の意思はなく、業務上横領罪にはあたらない」と無罪を主張していた。

猿橋被告を巡っては、ＮＯＶＡの破産管財人が今月１９日、「不要な取引を繰り返し、損害を与えた」として、約２１億３６００万円の賠償を求める訴えを大阪地裁に起こしたほか、６月には特別背任罪で大阪地検に刑事告発している。

ＮＯＶＡは８１年、前身の「ノヴァ企画」として猿橋被告が創業。一時は全国に約１０００店舗を構えたが、中途解約をめぐるトラブルなどで資金繰りが悪化し、０７年１０月に破綻。受講生約３０万人が前払い受講料の払い戻しを受けられなくなるなどの被害を受けた。負債総額は約８６０億円だった。猿橋被告は昨年６月に逮捕され、翌月に保釈保証金５０００万円を納め、保釈された。【牧野宏美】

毎日新聞　2009年8月26日　14時51分