AP Bank
AP Bank is a Japanese non-profit organization dedicated to renewable energy and environmental projects, founded in 2003. AP Bank's seed money was provided by record producer Takeshi Kobayashi, musician Kazutoshi Sakurai and composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. It channels its finance to small-scale sustainable projects that would otherwise struggle to receive loan funding. Beneficiaries have ranged from a recycling program in the far south of Kyushu, Japan, to the construction of an eco-resort in the Marshall Islands. AP Bank holds its own festival since 2005. AP Bank Fes raises awareness about environmental issues such as recycling and global warming, with all profits from the festival going to fund more projects at AP Bank. History The concept for AP Bank arose out of a series of seminars in 2002 by the members of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto's Artists Power, a project started in 2001 by Sakamoto and Takuro of Glay to engender more financial responsibility amongst musicians. Seminar organiser and music producer Takeshi Kobayashi invited members to learn from experts about citizen's banks, where money is used according to the depositor's wishes as opposed to regular banks where depositors rarely know how their deposits are used. Presenter Yu Tanaka, executive director of non-profit organization the Mirai Bank, established in 1994, encouraged the members to start their own citizen's bank in order to invest in wind turbines. In June 2003 AP Bank was officially founded as a non-profit bank able to offer loan financing, with a goal of tackling environmental problems. It was started with an initial investment of ¥100 million (approx. US$952,000) each from music producer Takeshi Kobayashi, musician Kazutoshi Sakurai and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. A former manager from one of Japan's largest regular banks, Mitsui Sumitomo also joined as a key member of the team. AP Bank, which operates as a lender with low interest rates, began receiving applications for loans online from May 1, 2004, receiving 75 applications in its first month and granting 14 in its first year worth a total of approximately ¥50 million (US$476,000). Initial projects were asked to reach requirements such as not lasting longer than 10 years and requiring not more than ¥5 million ($47,600). The annual interest rate was set at of 1% and examples of those that were first accepted included a forest revival project in Kagoshima, a bicycle rental service using abandoned cycles in Yokohama, the use of bio-gas from kitchen refuse in Saitama, and the construction of an eco-resort in the Marshall Islands. "AP Bank" took its name from Sakamoto's Artists Power but also stands for Alternative Power. AP Bank initially operated only on its founding member's capital, refusing to accept investment from the general public, in order to test the initiative. Funding is generated by regular releases by Sakurai's Bank Band, which performs and releases CDs and DVDs in collaboration with a wide range of guests artists. Further funding is generated by AP Bank's own AP Bank Fes, AP BANG! Tokyo Creators' Meetings and Yoyogi Village. At the 2008 MTV