It is said that Japan became widely known in Europe when the Venetian-born merchant Marco Polo in his 13th century travel diary introduced Japan as “Zipangu, the Land of Gold.” Since then, as countries with a long history and long traditions, Italy and Japan have continued to learn from each other.
At the same time, the recent increase in the growth rate of loans to the private sector should not be overrated. This was considerably influenced by the financing of the payments for UMTS licences by telecommunication companies. This does not imply high risks to price stability in the medium term as long as the proceeds are used, as expected, to redeem government debt.