Nippon Shinko - the first non-internet bank to be awarded a banking licence in Japan since 1954 - opened its doors for business in downtown Tokyo late last month.
With one branch, capital of Y2.5bn ($23m) and a target of gaining Y23bn in deposits within a year, president Yuko Oana proudly claims, Nippon Shinko is, "the smallest commercial bank in the world", making unsecured loans averaging Y50m (US$0.46m) to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Tokyo.
As Japan hauls itself out of more than a decade of economic stagnation, the establishment of a new bank is the latest sign that things could be changing for the better - an impression enhanced by Mr Oana. "I am seeking nothing less than the internationalisation of Japan's market for risk," he says.
But there is more to Nippon Shinko. Chairman Takeshi Kimura is one of the most controversial figures to have emerged in Japanese banking in recent years.
