terminals, atms, internet payments, mobile payments and card payments. all these methods of payment have to be accessible for everyone. one particularly successful european initiative i'd like to mention is pay - able, a platform that strives for barrier - free access to payment terminals. inspired by the european accessibility act, implemented in the spring of 2019, we released a report outlining numerous best practices for accessibility. many of these practices are of course focused on digitisation. the report outlines two concrete solutions : firstly, various banks have included speech technologies in their various payment apps. secondly, an increasing number of atms and payment terminals use voice assistance and light and sound signals to help disabled users. and fourth and finally : i also represent dnb on the steering committee of the money wise platform. this platform was set up by the dutch minister of finance and several other public and private sector organisations. every year we carry out all sorts of projects to improve dutch people ’ s knowledge of financial products. and to encourage financially responsible behaviour. her royal highness queen maxima is honorary patron of the money wise platform. what we have learned is that campaigns for raising public awareness are much more effective when they fulfil two conditions. first, when stakeholders work together. and secondly if events are repeated, ideally internationally. you may already be familiar with money week. this is a programme of activities we put on every year to help schoolchildren learn about using cash, making card payments and encouraging them to use money responsibly. unsgsa stimulates global financial inclusion this is just some of the work that queen maxima is involved in. she has also acted as the un secretary - general ’ s special advocate for inclusive finance for development for over a decade. she focusses on two target groups in particular : entrepreneurs in need of microfinancing, and women who still do not have a payment account or good financial literacy. this is one area where fintech can play a powerful role. good cooperation is the key to success for financial inclusion i think i've already said this a couple of times, but it's so important i'll tell you a third time! the key to success for financial inclusion is good cooperation between all stakeholders. across the public and private sector. a sophisticated vision and strategy can help create support and unite stakeholders. we have learned that the most successful initiatives are closely in tune with the country's culture. initiatives need to offer public and private stakeholders the chance

masaaki shirakawa : globalization and population aging – challenges facing japan speech by mr masaaki shirakawa, governor of the bank of japan, to the board of councillors of nippon keidanren ( japan business federation ), tokyo, 22 december 2011. * * * introduction i am honored to have this opportunity to address the representatives of japan ’ s economy gathered here today. we have just over a week left in a year in which the most notable event for our nation was definitely the great east japan earthquake of march 11. speaking only about the economic impact of this terrible event, japan ’ s economy suddenly faced enormous downward pressures arising from damage to production facilities, disruptions in supply chains, and shortages in electricity supply. thanks to tremendous efforts by company managers and by employees in the field, these supply - side problems were resolved by the summer, which was faster than expected. however, just as the prospects gradually began to look good for japan ’ s economy to overcome the problems caused by the disaster, the sovereign debt crisis in europe triggered new problems – a slowdown in overseas economies and the appreciation of the yen. as a result, after a sharp rebound, the pick - up in japan ’ s economic activity has gradually slowed and is currently at a pause. according to the tankan ( short - term economic survey of enterprises in japan ) released last week, business conditions deteriorated for large manufacturing enterprises, as has been extensively reported in the newspapers, but improved for large nonmanufacturing enterprises ( chart 1 ). as for smes, business conditions improved both for manufacturing and nonmanufacturing enterprises. as such, although overall business conditions have improved, the pace of improvement has slowed. as can be seen from the results of the tankan, there are currently two opposing forces in operation : on one hand, exports and production remain more or less flat due to a slowdown in overseas economies and the appreciation of the yen ; on the other, in terms of domestic demand, private consumption remains firm and postearthquake rebuilding and reconstruction demand is expected to materialize. the bank of japan judges that japan ’ s economy will be more or less flat for the time being as the former force prevails. beyond that phase, it is our judgment that the economy will gradually return to a moderate recovery path, reflecting a pick - up in growth of overseas economies, especially emerging economies. having said that, we are fully aware that this outlook is attended by various uncertain