as we move on. in fact, i see that an increasing number of firms are already moving in new directions. and i am aware that this region, which produced japan ’ s first domestically - manufactured automobile, is home to many forward - looking entrepreneurs. coincidentally, the mitsubishi regional jet ( mrj ) – japan ’ s first domestically - produced passenger jet – recently made its successful maiden flight. at this juncture, we are witnessing the start of a new legend in this region. i am hoping that the wind of change blowing from the chubu region will give flight to japan ’ s economy and lift it to a new, post - deflationary stage. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

##ary strategy and a national reform program to the european commission for assessment. the commission then published a country - specific report on detailed policy recommendations, covering fiscal consolidation and structural reforms. moreover, the eu introduced the “ macroeconomic imbalance procedure ( mip ) ” in december 2011, which, as the name suggests, is a surveillance mechanism that aims to prevent and correct macroeconomic imbalances within the eu. this alert system uses a “ scoreboard ” of 10 indicators as well as detailed country studies. each indicator is given a threshold, so a large divergence in each country ’ s performance from the threshold functions as a warning signal. 6 as in the original “ excessive deficit procedure, ” which was applied to the size of fiscal deficits, strict rules come into effect in the event of a large divergence in the form of a new “ excessive macroeconomic imbalance procedure ( eip ) ” ; this carries a possible financial penalty of up to 0. 1 percent of gdp for euro - area member countries. the decision - making process in the new regulations will employ reverse qualified majority voting to make all the appropriate relevant judgments before a penalty is introduced. this semi - automatic procedure makes it difficult for member countries to form a blocking majority. in february 2012, the european commission disclosed the first alert mechanism report. of the 27 eu member countries, those that are already under enhanced economic surveillance – greece, ireland, portugal, and romania – were exempted from examination under the macroeconomic imbalances. the report indicated that 12 countries – belgium, bulgaria, denmark, spain, france, italy, cyprus, hungary, slovenia, finland, sweden, and the united kingdom – bore some potential risk related to macroeconomic imbalances and thus warranted further detailed analysis. 7 according to the report, spain, for example, will take time to correct its external and internal imbalances despite the efforts being made to rectify its imbalances owing to the sheer size of the internal and external debt. it has also been pointed out that a fall in employment linked to downsizing in the construction sector and the economic recession has been aggravated by a sluggish adjustment of wages. at the end of may 2012, the commission confirmed that the 12 countries need to correct the large macroeconomic imbalances and that the adjustment process should be closely monitored. the five targets were as follows : ( 1 ) an increase of the employment rate for women and men aged 20 – 64 to 75 percent ; ( 2