2 In this regard, we owe a lot to Germany for the production of the first yen notes. 1  See the Bank of Japan's website, Masaaki Shirakawa, “150 Years of Innovation and Challenges in Monetary Control,” Speech at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main in Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of German-Japanese Diplomatic Relations on March 8, 2011. http://www.boj.or.jp/en/announcements/press/ koen_2011/data/ko110309a.pdf.
2  See the Currency Museum page on the website of the Institute of Monetary and Economic Studies of the Bank of Japan: “Short Essays on Monetary History Contained in Monetary and Economic Studies: Paper Money in  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  Relationship between the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Bank of Japan It is said that the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl once stated that “I did not like many of the monetary policy decisions of the Bundesbank, but as a citizen, I am very glad about the existence of the Bundesbank.” As this episode shows, the Bundesbank is well known for its independence and achievements in securing price stability.