Nozomu Sahashi, ex-president of bankrupt Nova Corp., asked 24 former students of the language school to drop their demand for about ¥16 million in compensation for unpaid refunds as the lawsuit against his alleged embezzlement opened Thursday.
One of the former students, who did not receive a cancellation refund of about ¥300,000, said, "I hold a grudge against (Nova's) management, which never explained how (Nova) went bankrupt and who would take responsibility."
The plaintiffs are demanding compensation from Nova's former management and two accounting firms that audited the firm. They claim Nova executives caused the bankruptcy with an unfeasible business expansion.
The students said they applied for cancellation fees, but they either did not receive the money or could not take lessons.