invest their funds safely by making deposits and there are those who want to increase their investment profits by taking certain risks. it is necessary to enhance the capability of financial and capital markets as a whole to convert a variety of fund management needs into economic growth, while utilizing each characteristic of indirect and direct finance. iii. three conditions required for securities markets based on what i have said, now, i will focus on the securities markets in which analysts are directly involved, and from the viewpoint of strengthening power that creates economic growth and developing securities markets themselves, i will mention three conditions for a desirable form of markets. first, a high degree of efficiency and fairness. securities markets can function efficiently only after proper pricing for risks and returns is made. therefore, it is deemed desirable that many investors who have a variety of evaluation criteria should participate and that the markets should be highly liquid. to that end, first of all, offers of versatile solutions for each fund raiser and fund investor as well as securities trading in the secondary markets have to be made at low costs, namely, the markets need to be a place of efficient financial transactions. in addition, in order for the markets to be a place in which many investors feel safe in participating, the fairness of transactions based on proper governance and high ethical standards has to be guaranteed. in japanese securities markets, especially after the burst of a bubble, various kinds of system reform have been made in order mainly to achieve a sound competitive environment. however, securities markets have recently been exposed to harsh global competition. in order to maintain the international competitiveness of japanese securities markets, it is critical to unflaggingly implement efforts to enhance the markets ’ efficiency and fairness in the future. in that regard, a move to establish asia ’ s number one stock exchange by merging the tokyo stock exchange and the osaka securities exchange is highly expected as a new start of japanese securities markets. second, the existence of investors who aim at increasing their medium - to long - term returns. of course, i do not deny that aiming at short - term trading profits is one of investment strategies or that it enhances market dynamism and liquidity. however, not only to chase short - term profits but, for example, for investment institutions, including pension funds and bis central bankers ’ speeches insurance companies, to make utmost efforts to raise medium - to long - term returns will enhance securities markets ’ function of selecting promising firms and projects and eventually contribute to achieving sustainable growth of japan ’ s economy.

securities analysts stimulating each other from different perspectives, “ production of information ” in the markets as a whole will be elevated both in terms of quality and quantity. what i especially expect is the “ production of information ” that contributes to exploring growing companies. although the growth potential of japan ’ s economy has been declining, if looked at individually, there are many firms with high profits and growth, and there will be further more potentially growing firms. finding out such promising investment opportunities one by one and nurturing them, while it seems a roundabout approach, will offer a potent breakthrough for eventually increasing growth potential of japan ’ s economy. second, maintaining full communication with firms. while the role of securities analysts is basically to provide investors with analysis on firms, cherishing connection with firms that are the subject of analysis eventually means that securities analysts will ask those firms their unique questions. namely, securities analysts can contribute to the process, in which firms constantly develop their business strategies while incorporating investors ’ perspectives. in other words, securities analysts play a valuable role as an interactive connecting point between firms and investors. third, playing an active role as global human resources. while currently a slowdown in emerging economies has become somewhat protracted, those economies have high bis central bankers ’ speeches growth potential in the medium to long term and, on the financial front, it is likely that especially asian securities markets will expand substantially. just like today ’ s conference, information exchange and interaction of people at a global level will become increasingly active in the future. in order to improve the attractiveness of japan ’ s securities markets and attract overseas investors, and also to utilize expanding overseas investment opportunities in the asset formation of japanese households, i expect securities analysts to play an active role with the key words “ asia ” or “ global. ” concluding remarks from the perspective of strengthening growth potential of japan ’ s economy, today i have talked about the importance of the role securities markets and securities analysts play. i think the aforementioned term “ production of information ” illustrates how financial business is a knowledge - intensive industry. in japan ’ s economy, in which the labor force has been declining in association with aging, increasing the growth rate of added - value per capita is a necessary condition for economic growth. if the typical knowledge - intensive industry of financial business enhances the ability of creating added - value and grows, it will itself contribute to strengthening the growth potential of japan ’ s economy. i have high hopes that securities analysts, while holding their strong intellectual curiosity and sen