access to around 500 million consumers. this allows them to reap economies of scale and to lower costs. at the same time, greater competition ensures lower prices, which in turn benefits consumers. that is the basic idea of the single european market. the euro takes this idea one step further : a single currency for a single market. companies can do business across the entire euro area without having to worry about exchange rate risk. and i am sure that each of us appreciates being able to travel through europe without having to change money. and it ’ s not just about travelling. in a united europe, anyone can live where he or she wants. ladies and gentlemen, as you may already sense, if i were able to write the fifth act of the euro area ’ s story, it would be very european. the citizens of europe would seize the opportunity provided by the crisis and the new global situation. they would reflect on their similarities and move closer together. true, that is easier said than done. after all, europe is very diverse : different languages, different cultures, different perspectives. but should that keep us from coming closer together and becoming a bit more european? i don ’ t think so. diversity enriches life – bringing together different perspectives and experiences broadens our horizons. it also helps us to solve problems – both our own problems and those we share with others. it is no coincidence that the motto of the eu is “ united in diversity ”. when we look at the economy, however, diversity becomes more tricky, particularly in a monetary union. and the countries of the euro area are indeed very diverse. they are diverse in terms of the specialisation and orientation of their economies – and this is certainly an advantage. but they are also diverse in the sense that their economies differ in terms of efficiency and resilience. that can cause problems. the crisis is a case in point : while some countries weathered it relatively well, others were hit quite hard. and if one member of a monetary union gets into trouble, it affects all the others as well. in that regard, we are all in the same boat. the question is how to deal with it? naturally, the first step is to try to prevent crises from happening in the first place. euro area countries have to become more efficient, and they have to become more resilient. even then, no one can rule out the possibility that a country might be hit by a crisis. and that leads us to the question

haruhiko kuroda : the bank's semiannual report on currency and monetary control statement by mr haruhiko kuroda, governor of the bank of japan, before the committee on financial affairs, house of councillors, tokyo, 22 november 2016. * * * introduction the bank of japan submits to the diet its semiannual report on currency and monetary control in june and december. i am pleased to have this opportunity today to talk about developments in japan ’ s economy and present an overall review of the bank ’ s conduct of monetary policy. i. economic and financial developments in japan at the monetary policy meeting ( mpm ) held on november 1, the bank released the outlook for economic activity and prices ( outlook report ), which presents its projections for japan ’ s economic activity and prices through fiscal 2018. based on this, i will first explain economic and financial developments in japan. japan ’ s economy has continued its moderate recovery trend, although exports and production have been sluggish due mainly to the effects of the slowdown in emerging economies. with regard to the outlook, it is likely to continue growing at a pace above its potential through the projection period — that is, through fiscal 2018 — with a virtuous cycle from income to spending being maintained in both the corporate and household sectors, on the back of highly accommodative financial conditions and the effects of the government ’ s large - scale stimulus measures, as well as the recovery in overseas economies. on the price front, the year - on - year rate of change in the consumer price index ( cpi, all items less fresh food ) has been slightly negative due to the effects of the decline in energy prices. as for the outlook, it is likely to be slightly negative or about 0 percent for the time being, and as the aggregate supply and demand balance ( the output gap ) improves and medium - to long - term inflation expectations rise, it is expected to increase toward 2 percent — the price stability target — in the second half of the projection period. the timing of the year - on - year rate of change in the cpi reaching around 2 percent will likely be at the end of the projection period — that is, around fiscal 2018. thus, the momentum toward achieving the price stability target of 2 percent seems to be maintained. however, it is somewhat weaker than the previous outlook made in the july outlook report, and thus developments in prices warrant careful attention going forward. ii. conduct of monetary