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Japanese commuters shuffle past an advertisement for Nova – once the largest private English school now filing for bankruptcy. It left 4,400 foreign teachers, 2,300 Japanese staff, just under half a million students and almost a thousand branches throughout the nation wallowing in its wake. The size of this business and its tragic collapse look set to make it one of the worst corporate implosions in the country's history. The estimated debt is said to hover around US$385 million. Foreign embassies from Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand have rushed in to assuage the anxiety of their citizens working abroad. Considering Nova assisted with housing – the company paying landlords directly out of teachers' salaries - many foreigners teaching in Japan today will be realizing they are now homeless. Australia's airline Qantas has since come forth offering cheaper fares home for those stranded. Not surprisingly the school's co-founder and president, Nozumu Sahashi has gone missing and no one seems to know where he is. He was dismissed several days ago when he failed to show up for a board meeting. At the same time four of the seven-member top management resigned. One of those four- co-founder Anders Lundgvist, nicknamed the 'backpacking Swede'. Sahashi and Lundgvist set up the business 26 years ago while the latter was allegedly holidaying through Japan. The nation was riding a wave of economic prosperity and was wolf hungry for English - seen as a key to internationalization and an aid for the affluent traveling classes. | 
