gateway21

Old news is fun! The Japan Times reports on Yano Research's survey on the foreign language learning market in Japan, which I wrote about this at the beginning of August and touched on again earlier this month. The only difference with today's article is that the JT spoke with somebody at GEOS.

Reporting on companies that go bankrupt follows a predictable script. First, the shocking news of the bankruptcy is announced followed by a few more details. Next, are the stories about the people who lost their money, which are then followed by the stories of anger from the people who lost their money. The Chugoku Shimbun brings us a story about the anger.

The October 26 edition of the Yomiuri Weekly carries an article that illustrates how much of a scam the travel abroad sector is--it's all about money, and the rules to protect consumers from being swindled are few and far between. The YW takes a look at why Gateway21's clients will never see the ¥950 million they paid the company.

When Gateway21 announced that it was bankrupt, there was talk of students already studying abroad having to return home due to Gateway stopping payments to overseas schools. Some students appear to have caught a break:

On Wednesday, TBS aired an exclusive interview with Tomomasa Fukui, president of the failed study abroad agency, Gateway21, in which he said the company failed due to poor management. Fukui also denied embezzling any of the ¥950 million in fees paid by students.

Failed study abroad agent Gateway21 held a meeting Sunday to apologize to its clients, telling them that their money had vanished into thin air.

Another sign that the eikaiwa industry is still in trouble: Gateway21 plans to file for bankruptcy protection with debts totaling 1.29 billion yen.