is a chain of eikaiwa English conversation schools in Japan. It is a branch of Berlitz Corporation, a subsidiary of ILSC Holdings LP. As of 2014, it had 1,800 employees and in 2020 it has 60 branches located all around Japan. History Berlitz's first branch in Japan was established in Akasaka in 1966, in the midst of Japan's postwar economic boom. The Berlitz School of Languages, Inc's Japanese branch was established as an organization on December 18, 1980. In 1990 Benesse Corporation acquired a stake in Berlitz International, and in 2001 Benesse completed their acquisition, owning 100% of Berlitz's stock. In 2009 Berlitz Corporation acquired Phoenix Associates, which specialized in providing business and language training. Effective January 1, 2013 the company, which had 228 staff as of October 31, 2012, was fully merged into Berlitz Corporation. In February 2022, as part of the sale of Berlitz Corporation to ILSC Holdings LP, Benesse decided to transfer all shares of Berlitz Japan (15.75% of all shares held by Benesse) to Berlitz Corporation. Headquarters Berlitz Japan's headquarters are located on the 7th floor of the Nishi-Shinjuku Showa Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Branches Berlitz Japan currently (as of 2014) has learning centers located all across Japan. 28 branches are located in Tokyo, nine in Kanagawa Prefecture, five in Aichi Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture, three each in Chiba Prefecture, and Hyogo Prefecture. Kyoto Prefecture has two learning centers as does Shizuoka Prefecture. There are one each in Saitama Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Okayama Prefecture, and Hiroshima Prefecture. Languages offered English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Dutch and others. Changes in conditions In 1991 Berlitz teachers were required to do 30 lessons a week for a monthly salary of ¥250,000. As of 2013 they were required to do 40 lessons a week for the same salary. Starting from 2018 company started offering FTI (Full-Time Instructor) contracts with 50 lessons per week for ¥275,000 a month. Unions In Japan, teachers at Berlitz are represented by several unions. In the Kansai region they are represented by the General Union, and in the Kanto region they are represented by Begunto, the Berlitz Tokyo General Union, part of the National Union of General Workers. Both unions belong to the National Trade Union Council. General Union branch The GU branch of Berlitz Japan was founded in 1993, and since that time has won a