. while inflation during the bubble period was relatively mild, japan ’ s economy had been brought to the verge of falling into a deflationary spiral in the 1990s. the deflation we observed at that time was largely the result of the bubble economy emerged in the late 1980s. such an experience suggests that we as the central bank should aim at price stability which supports medium to long - term sustainable growth, not price stability at a particular point in time. in this context, even if measured inflation is stable, we need to promptly alter interest rates once we judge that the risk of damaging sustainable price stability has become higher. according to this criterion, we have not, to our regret, sufficiently succeeded in maintaining price stability in japan since the bubble period. so far, i have mainly described the lessons for monetary policy derived from our experience during the period when the bubble emerged. of course, we also need to learn from the experience after the bursting of the bubble. it may be too early to summarize the experience and draw lessons, but i am sure we will learn quite a lot from the discussion at this conference. it is true that there is yet another major factor behind worldwide disinflation. it is the revolutionary progress of information technology, which we may perhaps call a new industrial revolution, and the resulting improvement of productivity. to find answers to what is price stability and an appropriate monetary policy in the face of rapid disinflation due to higher productivity, are difficult but positive challenges. in conclusion, i sincerely hope that through fruitful discussion at the conference, both those from academic circles and central banks will learn more, share the fruit, and make use of the wisdom obtained for the future conduct of monetary policy.

national payment infrastructure would not only support payments specific to poland ( such as zus – social insurance institution payments and payments to tax offices ), but also bring unquestionable benefits to polish citizens and companies. ladies and gentlemen, the implementation of sepa is a huge challenge for the polish banking system, for companies that make up the polish payment infrastructure and for many large clients of banks, including clients from the public finance sector. such a huge challenge requires the creation of the vision of sepa, the vision that will unite activities of all stakeholders of this process – from banks, through its clients up to infrastructural and telecom companies. the vision should treat the interests of the clients of the polish and european payment infrastructure as a priority. all stakeholders should remember that only those companies will be successful in the global economy of the 21st century that deliver value to their clients. companies that use cyclical market trends to gain benefits at the expense of their clients are doomed to fail. i would like to call on all those who develop the vision of sepa poland to analyse the functioning of payment systems in the most advanced parts of the world and to benefit from the experience of such countries as singapore, as expressed in the vision entitled “ intelligent nation 2015 ”. let us use the sepa poland process to create a payment system for the 21st century. let us inspire others, including public administration, to act and implement eadministration and e - economy so that poland and europe can be successful in the global economy of the 21st century. thank you very much for your attention. see www. in2015. sg