Masaaki Shirakawa: Recent economic and financial developments and the conduct of monetary policy Speech by Mr Masaaki Shirakawa, Governor of the Bank of Japan, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Kanazawa Branch, Kanazawa, 25 May 2009. *  *  *  Introduction I am honored to have the opportunity to speak before business leaders in the Hokuriku area today.
I would like to express my deep gratitude for your close cooperation with the Kanazawa Branch of the Bank of Japan. In response to strong requests from three prefectures in the Hokuriku area, the Kanazawa Branch was established in 1909 as the Bank's first branch in the districts of Honshu Island along the Japan Sea.