Introduction I express my thanks for having such a large audience gathered from Kitakyushu and other regions, and also for giving me an opportunity to speak in front of you. About a year ago, I was appointed as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, on March 20, 2013.
Further reforms were undertaken since 1999 when the non-performing loans were tackled in a decisive manner, minimum Capital requirements were raised, the quality of new loans was improved, mergers and consolidations of financial institutions took place and the range of products and services offered by the banks was widened.