acceleration of transactions in japanese financial markets. iv. toward more stable and accessible market infrastructure a. strengthening market infrastructure the experience of the recent crisis has reconfirmed that it is important to secure a stable source of liquidity in financial markets at all times. in strengthening market infrastructure, we should work toward reinforcing the financial market stability against stress, while at the same time considering measures to enhance accessibility with the aim of promoting active transactions. in japan, in order to address issues based on the experiences after the failure of lehman brothers, trading systems and market practices have been steadily established, in consideration of both market stability and accessibility. i hope that such initiatives and discussions will proceed further and japanese financial markets will become stable markets that are credible to market participants and accessible markets that meet the needs of various investors and in funding. b. role of the central bank in closing my remarks, i would like to talk about the role of the bank of japan in strengthening market infrastructure. the effects of the central bank ’ s monetary policy spread to the overall financial market and the real economy through various transactions by market participants and arbitrage trading between markets. the money market is where a central bank conducts daily money market operations that are essential to implement its monetary policy. the bank plays a role in providing market infrastructure by operating the bank of japan financial network system ( boj - net ), which is a settlement system for funds and japanese government securities ( jgss ), and by providing payment and settlement services. thus, the bank recognizes that it is also crucial to strengthen market infrastructure equipped with a high degree of accessibility while maintaining market stability. the bank will continue to support market initiatives to strengthen infrastructure as much as possible through communication with the market, and will actively contribute to such initiatives by improving settlement infrastructure through, for example, the construction of the new boj - net. thank you very much for your kind attention. chart 1 tension in the interbank market : libor - ois spreads ( 3 - month ) notes : 1. ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) indicate the bnp paribas shock ( on august 9, 2007 ) and the failure of lehman brothers ( on september 15, 2008 ), respectively. 2. data up to september 10, 2010. source : bloomberg. chart 2 tension in the corporate financing market : corporate bond spreads ( aa - rated ) notes : 1. corporate bond yields in japan are obtained from “ reference price ( yields ) table for otc bond transactions ”

the market further. iii. toward sustainable economic growth more than four years have passed since i joined the bank's policy board. i feel that the paces of technological development and changes in social norms have accelerated over this period. moreover, the global spread of covid - 19 is rapidly changing people's behavioral patterns. in particular, in the united states and europe, where the spread has been severe, various organizations and individuals seem to be accumulating new experiences, an example being that the u. s. federal reserve's policy decisions since the outbreak have principally been made via remote work. in order for japan to ensure sustainable economic growth in this situation, it is becoming increasingly important to move in step with these global developments. in what follows, let me introduce the bank of japan's initiatives in this regard based on the two points that i consider important. a. sustainable development goals ( sdgs ) and environmental, social, and governance ( esg ) factors first, both the public and private sectors have stepped up their efforts toward achieving the sdgs to realize sustainable economic growth since the united nations adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in september 2015. 3 the japanese government has announced its aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to virtually net - zero by 2050. from the perspective of contributing to financial system stability, which is the central bank's mission, climate change has been drawing global attention, and many central banks and supervisors are strengthening activities in line with this trend. for example, in december 2017, the network for greening the financial system was established. this is a group of willing central banks and supervisors, joined by the bank of japan in november 2019. as discussion on climate - related risks focuses mainly on matters with a medium - to long - term horizon, i do not view that these risks will pose an immediate threat to financial stability. however, it is important to actively participate in and contribute to international discussions and communicate necessary information in a timely manner while keeping abreast of viewpoints in the international community. to support firms proactively investing in physical and human capital, the bank has been purchasing etfs comprised of such firms'stocks at an annual pace of about 300 billion yen. for an overview and japan's related efforts, see https : / / www. mofa. go. jp / mofaj / gaiko / oda / sdgs / pdf / 000101401. pdf ; https : / / www. mofa.