NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- Every third Monday, members of an underground community bank gather in a bar in downtown Naha.
For 20 years, owners of stores along Kokusai-dori, the main street and a popular tourist hangout, have met to pool their extra cash, which members then take turns borrowing. Sometimes, the funds are used to help renovate a store, to help cover losses from a burglary, or even to assemble 10,000 dancers to parade through downtown Naha in a bid to attract more tourists.
"I come here and recharge -- there's incredible support here, and a determination to keep the community intact," says Tatsuya Inoue, who runs a restaurant that was passed down to him by his father.