Kazutoshi Sakurai facts for kids

Kazutoshi Sakurai (born March 8, 1970, in Tokyo) is a famous Japanese musician. He writes and composes almost all the songs for his band, Mr. Children. He also writes lyrics and sings for his solo project, Bank Band.

Sakurai is very well-known in Japan. In 2006, he was ranked among the top Japanese singers ever. In 2007, he was voted as an "ideal father figure." He was also recognized as a Young Global Leader in 2009 by the World Economic Forum. Sakurai is also an entrepreneur. He helped start AP Bank, a group that helps fund projects that are good for the environment. He even gave a lot of his own money to help start this important non-profit group.

Musical Journey

Kazutoshi Sakurai is a highly respected person in the Japanese music world. His song lyrics are often studied in music magazines because they are so good. He writes about many different topics, like social issues, science, feelings like sadness, love, and even war. Sakurai can play several instruments, including the guitar, piano, and harmonica.

Mr. Children and Other Projects

For most of his music career, Sakurai has been a part of the band Mr. Children. But he has also worked on other projects. In 1995, he sang and helped produce a charity song called "Kiseki no Hoshi" with Keisuke Kuwata. This song was made to support the Act Against AIDS campaign. Sakurai was also a disc jockey for a radio show called Music Gambo.

He has two other music groups he works with: Acid Test and Bank Band. Acid Test was a band that played songs by John Lennon. It is no longer active. Sakurai and Kenichi Tahara from Mr. Children formed Acid Test for a special concert in 2001. This concert was part of Yoko Ono's "Dream Power and Educational" project. Artists came together to raise money to build schools for children in Africa and Asia. Acid Test's cover of the John Lennon song "Mother" was later released on an album in 2005.

Health and Return to Music

In July 2002, Sakurai had to go to the hospital because of a health issue. He spent four months recovering from surgery. Because of this, all his music activities, including Mr. Children's "The Wonderful World" tour, had to be canceled. However, he returned to the stage in December 2002 for a special concert. A DVD of this concert, called Wonderful World on Dec. 21, was later released.

AP Bank and Environmental Work

In June 2003, Sakurai helped start AP Bank. This is a non-profit bank that focuses on solving environmental problems. He co-founded it with music producer Takeshi Kobayashi and famous composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. This bank only invests in projects that are good for the environment, like those that use renewable energy. The three men each invested a large amount of money to start it. The "AP" in AP Bank stands for both Artists Power and Alternative Power.

Artists Power is a project that started in 2001. Besides the bank, Sakurai also helped start AP Bank fes.. This is a yearly music festival that helps people learn about environmental issues like recycling and global warming. All the money made from the festival goes to fund more projects at AP Bank.

Solo and Collaboration Songs

As a solo artist, Sakurai has also worked with others. In May 2006, he co-wrote and sang the song "Te wo Dasuna!" with Gaku-MC. They formed a special group called "Ukasuka-G" for this song, which was a cheering song for the Japanese soccer team. As part of Bank Band, he teamed up with Salyu to release the song 'to U' in July 2006.

In 2007, he sang as a guest on Kai Yoshihiro's 10 Stories album. He also made a surprise appearance at Golden Circle Vol.10. Sakurai, along with other famous musicians, performed several songs. He co-wrote the lyrics for the song "Music," which was released in July 2007.

In July 2007, Bank Band announced a new theme song for "ap bank fes. '07" called "Yoku kita ne." In September 2007, Bank Band released their first song available only on iTunes, titled "Harumatsu Ibuki." This song was used as the theme song for the Japanese movie Midnight Eagle. Part of the money from this song was given to people affected by the Niigata earthquake. The rest of the money went to fund more projects at AP Bank.

He released his second album, Soushi Souai 2, with Bank Band in 2008. In 2010, he released another album, Soushi Souai 3, also with Bank Band.

In May 2020, it was announced that Sakurai had written a song called "Smile". This song was sung by a special group of artists from Johnny & Associates, including Arashi and V6. This was part of Johnny's charity work called "Smile Up Project." This was the first time Sakurai had worked with Johnny's artists.

Music Releases

Singles

Bank Band

• "To U" (2006)
• "Harumatsu Ibuki" (2007)

Ukasuka-G

• "Te wo dasuna!" (May 31, 2006)
• "Demo, te wo dasuna!" (March 20, 2013)

Albums

Bank Band

• Soushi Souai (2004)
• Soushi Souai 2 (2008)
• Soushi Souai 3 (2010)

Ukasuka-G

• Amigo (June 11, 2014)
• Tīshatsu to watashitachi (July 13, 2016)
• Don'na kotode mo okori uru (December 1, 2021)

ACID TEST

• Happy Birthday John! ~A Tribute to John Lennon~ (2005)

DVDs

Bank Band

• BGM Vol.2 (2004)
• ap bank fes '05 (2005)
• ap bank fes '06 (2006)
• ap bank fes '07 (2008)
• ap bank fes '08 (2009)
• ap bank fes '09 (2010)

Ukasuka-G

• Live & Travel DVD / Blu-ray「ウカスカジーの大冒険 〜TOUR “WE ARE NOT AFRAID !!”〜」 (June 14, 2020, DVD, Blu-ray)

See also

In Spanish: Kazutoshi Sakurai para niños