January 17, 2019
Bank of Japan
Opening Remarks at the G20 Finance and Central Bank
Deputies Meeting
Haruhiko Kuroda
Governor of the Bank of Japan
Good afternoon. It is a great honor for me to work with you and to serve as co-chair with
Minister Aso at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings this year.
The G20 was established in 1999, twenty years ago. It was the year when the euro was
introduced and two years after the Asian Financial Crisis. I attended the inaugural meeting in
Berlin as Vice-Minister of Finance for International Affairs. The main objective of the G20
was to promote cooperation among systemically significant economies including emerging
market economies, in order to achieve stable and sustainable global growth. Later, the
leaders' summit was initiated in response to the global financial crisis in 2008, and the G20
played a significant role in coordinating policy responses to the crisis. Since then, as the
world economy has recovered from the crisis, the G20 has discussed a wide range of issues to
promote strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.
While the role and agenda of the G20 have evolved over time, I would like to point out three
important values that have been emphasized consistently, based on my long-time
involvement in the G20 since its inauguration.
First, we recognize that the expansion of cross-border transactions of goods, services, and
finance will benefit all countries. We need to conduct policies so that many people can enjoy
the positive effects of international trade and capital flows on growth and productivity gains,
while minimizing their potential negative impacts.
Second, we need to be in preparing for policy responses to to
forward-looking medium-
long-term challenges. For instance, under Japan's presidency this year, we will discuss policy
responses to aging. Japan is currently the most aged society in the world. Sooner or later,
however, other economies will face a similar situation. Many issues must be considered in
our efforts to cope with an aging society, including fiscal, monetary, and structural policies. I
believe the G20 provides a valuable forum for discussion and mutual understanding of these
issues.
Third, we value the importance of inclusive growth, that is, the dividends of economic growth
should be distributed fairly and equally across the whole society. The G20 has discussed
policy agendas to enhance the overall living standards of low-income countries in a
sustainable manner. In addition, we need to address the increasing inequality in advanced
economies as well, taking account of the recent developments.
I hope you will have fruitful discussions at this two-day meeting and subsequent meetings of
the G20, leading up to the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in
Fukuoka in June. I look forward to meeting you all again later this year.
Thank you for your attention.