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

Sparse reporting on the trial, but this is what happened in the last two court sessions.

From Japan Today, a pretty standard interview with the president and CEO of an English school, but this bit caught my eye:

Do shady operators in the English school business tar everyone with the same brush?

You know you want it.

• 1985 Mitsubishi bus
• No seats
• No working A/C
• Air suspension broken
• No loudspeakers
• Tires have 1 mm of thread left
• Corrosion and rust everywhere
• 636,239 km
• ¥48,900 O.B.O. to scrap it

As a postscript to Sahashi's trial, I noticed this short blurb in the news:

「うさぎ」ＣＭも再開　「ＮＯＶＡ」再拡大目指す

ワンマン社長と呼ばれた猿橋望被告（５７）の手で国内最大手に成長したＮＯＶＡの経営破綻（はたん）から１年半。行き場を失った受講生の救済や外国人講師の雇用など、課題山積の事業を引き継いだジー・コミュニケーション（名古屋市）は、約半年で黒字化を達成。今年３月には、かつて人気を集めたマスコット「ＮＯＶＡうさぎ」のテレビＣＭも再開した。

経営破綻後には、サウナや茶室付きの「豪華すぎる」社長室が公開され、企業のイメージは大きく傷ついた。社長室の机に飾られていた「ＮＯＶＡうさぎ」のぬいぐるみが繰り返し報じられたこともあり、ＣＭは長く封印された。

Sahashi's trial began today, and since as he was acting in the interests of the company.

The trial of former NOVA president Nozomu Sahashi is slated to start tomorrow, June 1, in the Osaka District Court. You'll recall that he was indicted last July on charges of embezzling ¥320 million from an employment benefit fund.

Drink happoshu:

Saw this on the Ch.6 evening news. Two men were caught trying to sell a Viagra-like product in violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. According to the report, the men are suspected to have sold a box of "Viasheets" in a vending machine in January. One box nearly six months ago? And this is news?

I didn't think much of the story until I saw pictures of the product:

The blog Tofugu has an interview with a current neo-NOVA employee. There's not a lot you haven't heard before, but it's still worth a read for its summary of the aftermath of NOVA's collapse and the perspective on what it's like working for NOVA now.

If you're thinking about working in Japan, the word on NOVA is simple: Don't bother working for them.

Here we have to the 12,000 yen give-away:

The government will give up to 39,000 yen in "eco points" to buyers of eco-friendly home appliances under a new environmental program.

If you think you can use those points to purchase more stuff, just like you would if you were shopping at a major electronics retailer, you'd be mistaken.