In the euro area unemployment rates  2  BIS Review 34/2004  are currently around 3 percentage points higher, labour force participation rates more than 10 percentage points lower and annual hours worked per employed person lower by more than 300 hours. Europe is of course not the US. It has its own specificities which should be taken into account.
Given that we have been addressing the same challenges, the Bank would like to take advantage of other central banks' discussions and experiences. 6  As for "Japanification," see Wakatabe, M., "Japan's Economy and Monetary Policy," speech at a meeting with business leaders in Ehime, February 5, 2020, https://www.boj.or.jp/en/announcements /press/koen_2020/ko200205a.htm/. 7 "Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy," August 27, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/FOMC_LongerRunGoals_202008.pdf.