a concentration of risks in particular regions or with respect to particular firms. this new awareness, through a rethinking of business strategies, could generate new investment in, for example, computer centers and distribution depots. the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has triggered active global discussion on nuclear power policy, which will highlight the importance of energy conservation and environmental technologies. and as japanese firms have an edge in those areas, such as high - end batteries, there will be great room for them to make contributions. iv. tasks ahead for japan ’ s economic rebuilding various challenges lie ahead on the road to overcoming the adverse effects of the earthquake and rebuilding japan ’ s economy. the first challenge is ensuring the necessary financing for rebuilding. in this regard, japan has continued to have a current account surplus. in other words, japan has had an excess of savings over investment for a protracted period, which means that, from a macroeconomic perspective, this financing will not be difficult ( chart 8 ). japan ’ s capacity for foreign currency funding is extremely strong, given that the country is the biggest creditor nation in the world, with net external assets of 2. 9 trillion u. s. dollars, or 57 percent of nominal gdp. private financial institutions are fully able to meet an increase in financing demand for rebuilding. rumors have circulated that japanese insurance companies would sell foreign currency assets due to an increase in payments of insurance claims relating to the earthquake and subsequent events. these companies have ample short - term liquid assets, so they do not need to sell their foreign currency assets in order to make the payments. meanwhile, japanese government bonds have been issued quite smoothly and long - term interest rates have remained stable at low levels compared with other countries. as long as japan continues to work tirelessly toward rebuilding, it is unlikely financing problems will arise. the second challenge is raising japan ’ s potential growth rate. since 2000, japan has had one of the highest gdp growth rates per worker among g - 7 countries, although slightly lower than the united states ( chart 9 ). however, the decline in the working - age population in japan is proceeding at a pace that has no precedent in modern economic history ( chart 10 ). as a result, japan ’ s economic growth has been on a downtrend. raising the potential growth rate was the biggest challenge for japan ’ s economy even before the earthquake, but the efforts to do so by raising both the labor participation rate and productivity have now become all

your friendship. with the resilience of japanese society and the determination to rebuild, i am absolutely convinced that japan ’ s economy will overcome this trying time, successfully rebuild and become even better placed with greater growth potential. with that, i would like to conclude my remarks. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches