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'''For the club in Tokyo see [[:ja:東京アメリカンクラブ|Tokyo American Club]](東京アメリカンクラブ) on the Japanese language wikipedia page.''<br />''For the luxury spa and resort located in Kohler, Wisconsin, U.S.A. see [[The American Club]]'' {{dated prod|concern = This article lacks notability. It's simply about a small business that collapsed. Perhaps we should all write articles about neighbourhood businesses that closed down?|month = August|day = 5|year = 2009|time = 03:26|timestamp = 20090805032624}} <!-- Do not use the "dated prod" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:prod|reason" --> '''American Club English School (アメリカンクラブ株式会社）''' was an "[[eikaiwa]]" (English conversation) school based in [[Utsunomiya]], [[Tochigi Prefecture]], [[Japan]]. It ceased to exist in 1996, after being sued for withheld wages two times, by two different groups of employees<ref>''Networking'', Utsunomiya, Jan. 1996</ref>, <ref>''朝日新聞''　(''Asahi Shinbun''), Utsunomiya edition, Utsunomiya, Jan. 25, 1996</ref>. The first lawsuit took place in December 1994<ref>和解書　(Court agreement)、宇都宮裁判所 (Utsunomiya courthouse), Dec. 26, 1994</ref> and the second in January 1996<ref>Court ruling, 宇都宮裁判所 (Utsunomiya courthouse), Jan. 1996</ref>. The American Club was highly successful in recruiting students to sign up for English classes during the [[Japanese asset price bubble]] economy of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The classes were almost exclusively taught by native English-speaking teachers from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. At its peak it had a main school in [[Utsunomiya]], and five branch schools in [[Mibu]], [[Mooka]], [[Oyama]], [[Tochigi]] City - all in [[Tochigi Prefecture]] - and [[Koga]] in [[Ibaraki Prefecture]]. The school also contracted with companies, "[[juku]]s" (cram schools), kindergartens and high schools in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures to send teachers to the companies/schools once or twice a week and teach English. The American Club serviced students of all levels and ages - from pre-school to the elderly<ref>''Networking''</ref>. After the burst of Japan's [[bubble economy]] in the early 1990s, the American Club began to suffer. In summer 1994, employees' wages were late. By October of that year, the school had stopped paying wages entirely. A group of teachers subsequently organized, formed a union and took the directors of the company, Hiroaki (aka "Morio") Sugimoto and Isao Konno to court<ref>和解書　(Court agreement)</ref>. These employees received three months in back wages on December 26, 1994, with the stipulation that "teachers will refrain from damaging the company's reputation."<ref>和解書　(Court agreement)</ref> The school continued to hire new employees after the employees who had gone through the pay problems of 1994 finished their contracts. By December 1995 the school again withheld three months in employees' wages<ref>''朝日新聞''　(''Asahi Shinbun'')</ref>. By this time Hiroaki Sugimoto had legally resigned his position as president of the company<ref>アメリカンクラブ株式会社登記 (American Club Business Registration), Utsunomiya Legal Records Office, Jan. 1995</ref>, but continued to direct American Club teachers to work in an affiliated school he managed - International Business and Language [[Senmon Gakkou]] (aka IBL)<ref>インタナショナルビジネスランゲージ専門学校登記 (International Business and Language Senmon Gakkou Business Registration), Utsunomiya Legal Records Office, Jan. 1995</ref>. This school was similar to a vocational junior college, and offered courses in majors such as computer technology, fashion and English. Hiroaki Sugimoto was also the landlord of the American Club spaces in Utsunomiya.<ref>登記(Business Registrations for real estate in Motoimaizumi, Utsunomiya), Utsunomiya Legal Records Office, March, 1998</ref>. Isao Konno was legally tasked with managing the American Club.<ref>アメリカンクラブ株式会社登記 (American Club Business Registration)</ref>. However, during the late December 1995/early January 1996 holidays, Konno disappeared<ref>''Networking''</ref>. In a letter to an American Club employee he claimed Hiroaki Sugimoto had threatened him and his (Konno's) wife with harassment if he (Konno) tried to declare bankruptcy for the American Club<ref>Konno, Isao, Letter to American Club, Feb. 1996</ref>. Konno was never seen again by any of the American Club teachers. With no one to manage the company, the teachers eventually stopped working for it. A second lawsuit was filed by employees for three months in delinquent wages in January 1996<ref>Court ruling, 宇都宮裁判所</ref>., but no one showed up to represent the school in court. Eventually the employees received 80% of their back wages through the Labor Standards Office of the Japanese government<ref>Conversations with and payments through Labor Standards Office, Utsunomiya, Feb. 1996-Sep. 1996</ref>. ==Notes== <references /> {{coord missing|Japan}} [[Category: English conversation schools in Japan]] [[Category: Japanese business law]] [[Category: Human rights in Japan]]'