A brief video message in English from the head of a small Japanese bank is turning heads, mostly because it¡¯s never been done before.

this week of President Akihiko Fukai extolling everything from the firm¡¯s profit outlook to the hot springs that dot its business area outside Tokyo.

¡°That¡¯s something no other regional banks have done,¡± said Toyoki Sameshima, an analyst at SBI Securities, noting small Japanese lenders are starting to attract interest from overseas investors that used to only focus on the nation¡¯s biggest banks.