●1957 First International PEN Congress in Tokyo
1957 September 1st, the first International PEN congress in Japan, and indeed the first in Asia, got underway in Tokyo, In the 29th International PEN Congress, 171 delegates from 30 PEN centers in 26 countries and 208 Japan P.E.N. Club members participate.
The theme was "How Eastern and Western Literature Influence Each Other"
The opening ceremony on September 2 in the Sankei Hall in Otemachi,
Tokyo, which was broadcast throughout Japan on television
President Yasunari Kawabata making the opening address