The rise of new literary journals in Asia: Monkey Business, Kyoto Journal and Asia Literary Review

One newcomer to the world of literary journals in Japan is an old hand at literature, and straddles both financial spheres, running a Japanese journal as a commercial enterprise with the English version supported by sponsorship. Motoyuki Shibata, a former University of Tokyo professor, has been translating for over 25 years. His first foray into literary journalism produced Monkey Business, a Japanese journal started in 2007.

In 2010, Shibata teamed up with Ted Goossen, a professor at York University, to create an English version featuring the best bits of the Japanese Monkey Business.