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

Something is rotten. Time for some speculation here, but recent news reports match reality too closely for them to be merely coincidences. What I'm talking about are articles from the Sankei Shimbun posted by and in the forums that link Nova to some shady activities.

Burleyman's post:

This is it. All is lost for Nova. A new fax has appeared informing teachers that they will not be paid on October 15th.

As reported in the The Age, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer quipped that Nova is doomed:

A producer from 702 ABC Sydney contacted me and is looking to interview Australian teachers for a broadcast tomorrow or Monday. Here are the details:

As I'm reading in an Aust newspaper here in Sydney this morning, may Nova-T's may be facing the chop pretty soon, many of whom are reported to be Aussie expats. I would really appreciate it if you could help me get in touch with one or more of such Australian Nova teachers who are either currently working or recently left, or recently been sacked.

Now the landlords are getting into the act. According to the Nikkan Sports, a landlord in Kyoto has filed a lawsuit demanding 1.35 million yen in rent in arrears.

With METI ordering Nova to pay students their refunds, teachers have taken this to mean that they are getting the shaft. I've been getting notes like this in my inbox:

Who reckons we'll be paid on time this month?

Can I get a "hell no!"?

Well, I for one am not going to sit around and get bum raped again.

Well, that was fast. Right after the union submitted its written demand to METI, METI went right to work ordering Nova to pay its students their refunds.

The Japan Times, meanwhile, reports that Nova raised 70 million yen through the issuing of warrants for 200 million shares.

ABC Radio National devoted 8 minutes to the situation with Nova.

After filing a demand with the Labour Standard Inspection Office in Osaka at the end of September, the General Union and the Nova union submitted a written demand to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for them to take action regarding the delayed payment of teachers' and staff salaries and student refunds. Good. They are holding Nova's feet to the fire and ratcheting things up.

Oh joy! Nova president "Nozom" Sahashi has decided to tell everyone to hang tight just a little longer yet again. Maybe if he actually showed his face in public and explained things, people would start taking him seriously instead of trying to decipher the meaning of his brief faxes. Here's the new fax with a translation courtesy of .