In 2003, the Japan Society in London presented to Paul Norbury its award for "outstanding work in the field of U.K.-Japan relations." Since the early 1970s, as publisher, editor and author, Paul of England has been closely associated with Japan.
Rather than being planned by him, the association happened to him. Originally Paul set out to teach. Educated at the universities of London and Manchester, he spent two years teaching in secondary school. He loved it, but wanted to do other things too. "I formed the nucleus of a pop group when I left teaching," he said. "It's a split personality I had."
Deciding to become a journalist, he worked on the editorial staffs of different publications. Then in the early '70s, he joined a company where he undertook to set up a publications division. "I was told my first brief would be to create a journal about Japan for Japan Airlines," he said. "What I knew about Japan was very, very little at all. It was extraordinary arrogance to think that I could mastermind something that I knew nothing about. It became clear that the journal was to introduce Japan to Europeans in a way that was intelligible to the man in the street, the business world, the general public."