*  *  *  I want to express my gratitude to President Bush for his confidence in me and to you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, for expeditiously holding this hearing on my renomination for a fifth term as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Against this background, Japan is making progress steadily in its structural reforms, aiming at reaching the final goal that it will become a home of high value added, a hub for gathering, creating and transmitting information that will contribute to further development of Asia as a whole. Here, let me discuss again the central bank job.