Former employees of a major hair removal salon chain have filed a petition in the Tokyo District Court to force its operating company to commence bankruptcy proceedings. They say they have been unpaid for months and need to stop an outflow of the company's assets.



The operator of Musee Platinum, MPH, has suspended operations at all its roughly 170 beauty salons across Japan since late March, citing a variety of reasons, including a shift in its management system.



MPH says it is gradually arranging for its customers to receive treatment at other salons and more than 2,300 employees of the firm have gone unpaid. The estimated amount outstanding from January through April is around 1.5 billion yen, or a little more than 10 million dollars.



On Friday, the request to start bankruptcy proceedings was made by petitioners, including nine former workers, who say they were unpaid for several months through March. They say the company has a large amount of debt, which it is unable to pay.



Their lawyer said at a news conference held after the filing that the firm has not only failed to pay salaries of its employees but also fallen behind on payments for their social security premiums.



The court will hear from both petitioners and the operating company and look into whether the company is insolvent. The court will then decide whether to commence bankruptcy proceedings.



MPH says the company will start to partially pay back wages from later this month and expects to complete the payments to workers by the end of the year.



The firm says it takes the matter seriously and will continue to work hard to revive the business.