OSAKA -- Labor authorities have reported former Nova Corp. President Nozomu Sahashi and the English language school chain to public prosecutors for failing to pay their employees.

The Osaka Labor Bureau sent documents to the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office on Monday accusing Sahashi, 56, and Nova Corp. of breaking Labor Standards Law.

According to the labor bureau, Nova Corp. failed to pay about 105 million yen in wages to 400 foreign instructors and Japanese employees at the school.

The amount and the number of victims are a record high for a case of unpaid regular wages, excluding overtime-work wages and severance payment.

Sahashi has admitted to not having paid the wages, but denies that he did it deliberately.

"I was busy raising money using my personal funds," he told police.

According to police, in 2007 Sahashi failed to pay about 33 million yen in wages to 134 Japanese employees on Sept. 27, and around 72 million yen to 266 foreign instructors on Oct. 15.

Sahashi has already been arrested for embezzlement in the conduct of business for allegedly misappropriating a massive sum from the employees' welfare fund.

Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.