Benesse

is a Japanese company which focusses on correspondence education and publishing. Founded in Okayama-City, the company is known internationally as being the parent company of the Berlitz Language Schools, which is in turn the parent company of ELS Language Centers. It is listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange (listing code 9783).

Origin of the company name

The name is derived from the Latin words "bene" (well) and "esse" (being).

Company development

On January 28, 1955, the "Fukutake Publishing Co. Ltd." (株式会社福武書店 "Kabushiki-gaisha Fukutake Shoten") was founded. In 1994, the Fukutake Shoten Tokyo Building (now Benesse Corporation Tokyo Building) in Tama-City, Tokyo, was completed. In April 1995, the company was renamed Benesse Corporation.

A major breakthrough in the company history was the take-over of a majority of the Berlitz Language Schools after its going public in 1989, in 2001, Benesse Corporation acquired 100 % of it and made it a private company once again. 2008 has seen Berlitz schools in the Tokyo region affected by a series of rolling strikes with an increasing number of teachers joining the Berlitz General Union Tokyo. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080506zg.html Berlitz Teachers Strike Back, Japan Times, 6 May 2008] ]

References

External links

*en icon [http://www.benesse.co.jp/english/ Benesse Corporation]
*en icon [http://www.els.edu]