is a
Japanese musician and
entrepreneur. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band
Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked #8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted #4 as the "ideal father image" by
Oricon. Also, in 2009, he was chosen as one of the Young Global Leaders in World Economic Forum. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded
AP Bank, where he personally provided 1 million dollars of
seed money to launch and fund the nonprofit lending group which finances
environmentally friendly projects.