Coco Juku

Coco Juku (COCO塾), which stands for Communication Competence, was an English conversation school (eikaiwa) in Japan. The school was founded in 2012 by Nichii Gakkan, which also owns the English conversation school Gaba Corporation. Coco Juku's lessons began on April 10, 2012[1] and the "Coco Junior" program for children began in April 2013.[2]

Coco Juku
TypePrivate
IndustryEducation
FoundedApril 2012
DefunctMarch 31, 2018 (2018-03-31)
HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
OwnerNichii Gakkan
Websitehttp://cocojuku.jp/

From 2013 it also began offering Japanese lessons under the name "Japanese course for foreigners".[3]

On March 31, 2018, Coco Juku ended service. Its parent company still operated schools under the Coco Juku name for children, Coco Juku Junior.[4] These were all closed by March 31, 2020.[5]

Branches

In April 2012, Coco Juku opened for business at six locations, and planned to open 92 locations within their first year.[6] As of June 2015 it had 80 locations across Japan.[7] As of December 2018 it had 72.

After poor business performance 51 of the locations were closed by March 31, 2019[8] with the remainder being closed soon afterwards.

Unions

Coco Juku required all employees, including foreign teachers, to belong to their in-house union, the Nichii Gakkan Union (ニチイ学館労働組合).[9][10]

In addition, some instructors belonged to the General Union.[11]

Final payment for employees

Article 23 of Japan's Labor Standards Act states that when a worker completes work for an employer their final payment should be paid within seven days.[12] Coco Juku does not follow this rule and pays employees the next month. In 2014 a Coco Juku employee who was resigning requested his pay within the seven days mandated by law, and was refused. The General Union became involved and made contact with Nichii Gakkan, the parent company of Coco Juku. Nichii Gakkan ordered Coco Juku to make the payment within the seven days, which the company did.[13]

Company shutdown

After the closing down of the company was announced in early 2019, instructors teaching English were offered either three months severance package or to be transferred to Gaba Corporation, also owned by Nichii Gakkan. The General Union negotiated with the company and gained continued employment at 100% payment of salary while negotiations were ongoing.[14]

Advertising

After an initial 2012 advertising campaign featuring "Dr Coco", a suited foreign man, the company changed tack and, from later in 2012, launched a series of advertisements using well-known Japanese actor Yūsuke Iseya.[15]

See also

References
  1. Nikkei website ニチイ学館、英会話スクール「ＣＯＣＯ塾」を開講 Retrieved June 1, 2012 Archived May 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Coco Juku 子ども向け英語スクールをお探しならCOCO塾ジュニア Retrieved June 11, 2014 (in Japanese)
  3. Coco Juku website Japanese Course for foreigners Retrieved on June 11, 2014
  4. "英会話教室・スクール【COCO塾】". www.cocojuku.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  5. "【COCO塾ジュニア】 フランチャイズ事業終了のお知らせ". COCO塾ジュニア. 2019-06-28. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  6. Nikkei website ニチイ学館、英会話スクール「ＣＯＣＯ塾」を開講 Retrieved June 1, 2012 (in Japanese) Archived May 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Cocojuku homepage 教室のご案内 Retrieved June 17, 2015(in Japanese)
  8. Takahashi, Ryusei (April 10, 2019). "Nichii Gakkan says more closures to come after shuttering 50 Coco Juku English schools across Japan". Japan Times. Retrieved August 17, 2020.,
  9. General Union website Working at Cocojuku? September 20, 2012 Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on June 11, 2014
  10. Nichii Gakkan Union website Retrieved July 28, 2014
  11. General Union website Working at Cocojuku? September 20, 2012 Archived October 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on June 11, 2014
  12. Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training website Labor Standards Act Retrieved June 20, 2014
  13. General Union website Coco Juku ordered to pay up May 12, 2014 Archived October 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 20, 2014
  14. General Union Website General Union Wins Continued Employment For Members After Coco Juku Collapse Retrieved August 17, 2020
  15. Coco Juku webpage CMギャラリー Archived 2013-03-31 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese) Retrieved June 11, 2014
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