The longest running English poetry journal in Japan, Poetry Nippon, was founded in the fall of 1967. Edited by Sapporo-based poet and translator Yorifumi Yaguchi, it has helped forge links between Japanese, British and American poetry for over 30 years.
Publication was suspended following the death of founder Onsey Nakagawa in 1997, but it bounced back in December 2000, again with Yaguchi at the helm. Yaguchi wrote in that issue: "We hope Poetry Nippon will become once more the place for poets and poetry lovers to actively publish their works as in the past. May our magazine thrive through the 21st century!"
In the preface to "Poetry Nippon: Anthology 1967-1999" (Hokuseido Press), Yaguchi describes how British poet James Kirkup was willing to help with Poetry Nippon's project from overseas. Then in 1968, Naoshi Koriyama, Japan Times bilingual columnist Toshimi Horiuchi and Edith Shiffert, among others, joined the group.