has been that ( 1 ) given the extremely accommodative financial conditions, the level of interest rates is to be raised if japan's economy is to follow a path of sustainable growth under price stability, and ( 2 ) the pace of increase in interest rates should be determined in accordance with improvements in the economic and price situation without any predetermined view. so far, weak inflationary pressures have given the bank latitude in conducting monetary policy. the actual interest rate adjustments have therefore been slow based on a thorough assessment of the future path of the economy and prices and its likelihood, as well as both upside and downside risks. the bank's basic thinking in this regard will remain the same in the conduct of future monetary policy. that is, while confirming that the japanese economy remains likely to follow a path of sustainable growth under price stability and assessing relevant upside and downside risk factors, the bank will adjust the level of interest rates gradually in accordance with improvements in the economic and price situation. we believe that, from the long - term perspective, the conduct of monetary policy in such a manner will prevent the risk of larger swings in economic activity and prices from materializing and will help to realize sustainable growth under price stability. conclusion japan's economy is expanding moderately. corporate activity has been increasing due partly to strong exports, as can be seen here in the kansai region, and the positive influence is clearly spreading throughout the wider economy as evident in the declining unemployment rate. in order for japan's economy to continue sustainable growth in the face of various challenges including the declining population, it is crucial for all regions and industries to persist with their efforts to innovate. since, along with the kanto and tokai regions, the kansai region is pulling japan's economy forward, i fully anticipate that your originality and inventiveness will continue to play a leading role. as for the bank, we will continue to support your efforts through our conduct of monetary policy.

##e both public and private investment in order to take advantage of the exceptional financing conditions created by our monetary policy. to do so, we need to put the juncker plan back on the table. the juncker plan has yielded results, but they are insufficient. to support the revival of this plan, i have proposed the creation of a true european “ financing and investment union ”. to achieve this, we must combine the juncker plan, the european commission ’ s plan for a capital markets union, and the banking union. the aim is to create synergies in order to achieve three ambitious goals : better channel euro area household savings to productive investment and equity ; better pool risks across countries ; and thus better finance innovation and the networks our economy needs. this is the direction we should take now. lastly, we need to make progress towards an economic governance of the euro area ; in france, we spoke of “ economic government ”. this progress is essential, regardless of whether or not the united kingdom remains in the european union ; naturally, i would like it to stay in. this is not a purely institutional question ; it is not about “ more brussels ” but very concretely about more growth and employment. indeed, economists estimate that the current lack of coordination of national economic policies has cost europeans between two and five percentage points of gdp since 2011. naturally, contrary to the case of monetary policy, the aim is not to fully integrate all of our economic policies at the european level, but to achieve a “ full coordination ” of fiscal and structural policies. for this, we need to have shared economic goals, and a true “ collective strategy ” for the euro area, in which each country has a role to play to improve everyone ’ s situation. this requires trust, in particular between france and germany, based on a clear pact : national reforms and ( not or ) european coordination. this full coordination also rests on the setting up of a strong and legitimate european institution : a euro area finance minister backed by a european treasury system and subject to greater democratic accountability. this finance minister would be charged with defining the collective strategy, supervising its decentralised implementation by member states and managing crisis management tools. going forward, he / she could also be in charge of a common budget. for the euro area and for the confidence of its citizens, 2016 – 2017 is the crucial time to act : i had the opportunity to discuss these proposals in greater depth a few days ago, and i hope that our exchange will