*  *  *  Welcoming guests to the party and expressing appreciation for the 100-year-long friendship Distinguished guests, Governor King, Ladies and gentlemen, On behalf of the entire institution of the Bank of Japan, let me extend our gratitude to all of you and your predecessors for our long-standing friendship and your cooperation with our London office.
We have been extremely happy to work with every one of you, regardless of nationality, domicile or profession. Some guests have worked with us in the financial, academic and public sectors, and some other guests have worked for the UK-Japan relationship. We also owe very much to the guests from the active and hard-working Japanese community here.