Nova Files For Court Protection From Creditors

Nova, the largest operator of English conversation schools in Japan, has filed for court protection from creditors:

Nova Corp. filed the request with the Osaka District Court on Friday morning under Japan’s Corporate Rehabilitation Law, court spokesman Takeaki Tominaga said.

Following the court filing, the Jasdaq Securities Exchange for start-ups and venture companies suspended trading in Nova shares for the day and said the company will be delisted Oct. 27.

“This matter affects not only the students but foreign teachers and staff. I hope that the impact can be minimized,” top government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura told reporters.

The Osaka-based foreign language conversation school chain has debts estimated at 43.9 billion yen (US$385 million; €269 million), according to Kyodo News agency.

A video of Japanese news coverage of this event:

Nova schools across Japan have closed their doors, and it is not clear when or if they will re-open in the future. Nova’s official website has been taken down and replaced with a notice in Japanese that announces the bankruptcy and includes a Q&A telling students that they cannot get refunds now because all Nova’s assets are now under protection of the courts. Teacher and staff wages have also been delayed indefinitely.

[The picture used in this post is from Let Japan's Nova Artwork thread: check it out if you need a laugh!]