Revving up the metabolism of culture with the pulse of new artistic voices, a good literary journal doesn't usually have much to do with profit — it's all about circulation. Japanese literary journals enjoy a healthy transmission here, thanks to the financial backing of big publishing firms. How do English literary journals fare?

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.