Failure of overseas placement agency leaves many students in the lurch

Gateway21 Co., a private agency to help Japanese study overseas, will meet with creditors Sunday after filing for bankruptcy Wednesday.

About 1,300 students have credit worth about ¥950 million in the agency, but there appears to be little hope they will get refunds given the company's limited assets.

"My dream is to get a job translating for movies," said a 27-year-old woman who paid ¥1.35 million to the company in March to cover the costs of a home stay and school fees in Canada.

"I was worried if I can get a job after returning (from Canada). The firm's pitch that they would help with job hunting looked attractive to me," she said.

Gateway21 went bankrupt right after she decided to quit her job as an office worker and go to Canada in January.

She said she was so shocked it took a long time before she could stop crying.

Some customers already overseas will not able to continue their stays in the wake of the company's termination.

There are no measures to help such people, an attorney for Gateway21 said.

Another woman in her 20s saved up her money little by little to study abroad.

She paid ¥1.7 million to Gateway21 and went to a U.S. college in August to study business English.

"Only after the bankruptcy, I learned that tuition and boarding fees have not been paid (by the agency to the college)," she said.

Nonprofit organization Ryugaku Kyokai, which helps students studying abroad, offers consultations for students in trouble.

The NPO has been swamped with calls since Gateway21 stopped operations on Sept. 26.

Even before the bankruptcy, "we were receiving many complaints over the company. We know of a victim who paid ¥2 million right before the bankruptcy," said Masanori Sakai, director general of Ryugaku Kyokai.