*  *  *  Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a pleasure to be with you here today and to have the opportunity to participate in this important and timely Symposium on the subject of “Islamic finance amid the global financial turmoil – its implication for Japan.” The Symposium is timely because, in the wake of the global financial crisis, there has been a great upsurge in interest in the principles of Islamic finance and the opportunities that the industry presents both inside and outside the Muslim world.
Many industry participants, regulators, and policy-makers have begun to ask whether there are lessons to be learnt from the principles of Islamic finance which might help avoid future crises. At the same time, there has been growing recognition that Islamic finance offers a variety of financing structures that are viable alternatives to conventional finance.