As union representative for Berlitz General Union Tokyo (Begunto), let me set the record straight.

Despite scabs, naysayers and second-guessing pundits in the English-language media, Berlitz teachers are making history. With more than 100 teachers striking at dozens of schools around the Kanto region for over six months, the industrial action at Berlitz is now the largest sustained strike in Japan's language school history.

Begunto demands a 4.6 percent base pay hike and a one-off bonus of one month's salary. Berlitz Japan has not raised teachers' base pay for 16 years. Three years ago, the language school lowered starting pay by over 10 percent per lesson, a cut only partially mitigated by a performance-based raise this year.