The north east of England has a longstanding relationship with Japan – Tyneside shipyards built an entire navy for the Japanese at the start of the last century. Yet little information has been gathered about the Japanese contribution to the lives of the people in the north east.

Photographer James Sebright and writer Rachel Cochrane have been working together to give an insight into the working lives of employees at Nissan Motor Manufacturing in Sunderland, where the first car – a white Bluebird – rolled off the production line in 1986.

They have captured portraits of the people behind the machinery as well as their stories, using photography and poetry – including a poem, in the form of the traditional Japanese Haiku.

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Read the full version in The Northern Correspondent #4