For more than three and a half years now, we have been focused on the challenges to our economies and our societies by the unfolding financial crisis. But the tragic events in Japan over the past week remind us of even greater threats.
The potential impact of the earthquake and its aftermath on both the Japanese economy and the world economy is something we will be thinking about deeply in the coming days and discussing with our friends at the Bank of Japan. For the moment, my heartfelt thoughts are with the people of Japan, whose lives and whose livelihoods have seen such havoc.