I am sure you are still worried about the situation as the business leaders from the region, and I appreciate this opportunity you have given me to speak and exchange views with you at a time like this.
I would also like to use this occasion to express my deep gratitude for your cooperation with the Bank of Japan’s branches in Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto. It is now just over one year since we last met. In the interim, Japan’s economy experienced a severe hardship – namely, the Great East Japan Earthquake.