United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, or New Zealand. According to The Japan Times, the Justice Ministry estimates that some 90 percent of foreign residents in Japan stay for three years or less. For eikaiwa teachers, however, that figure rises to between 96 and 97 percent. Scandals The American Club, once the largest school in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, was sued twice by its employees in the space of 13 months for withheld wages. During the second lawsuit its directors fled, while ignoring a court order to pay. News reports indicated the business was closed, but according to its business registration it is still a legal operating entity with 30 million yen in equity, and has never been in a state of bankruptcy. The collapse of the troubled Nova chain left thousands of western foreigners with no source of income and, in the majority of cases, no accommodation after their contracts were abruptly cancelled. In 2014, Eikaiwa chain Gaba, famous for its "man-to-man" (one-to-one) lessons, came under fire from local print media for its handling of sexual harassment complaints against students. In the absence of a grievance procedure, the Gaba branch of the General Union had to resort to collective bargaining to resolve at least one dispute. References Further reading Craig Currie-Robson, English to Go: Inside Japan's Teaching Sweatshops (2015) Bruce Feiler, Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School (1991), later published as Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan Benjamin Hesse, Memoirs of a Gaijin (2007) David L. McConnell, Importing Diversity: Inside Japan's JET Program (2000) English conversation schools in Japan