christian noyer : bank of france – bank of japan : converging views opening speech by mr christian noyer, governor of the bank of france, at a joint symposium of the bank of france and the bank of japan, paris, 8 january 2008. * * * mr ambassador, governors, chairpersons, professors, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, i am delighted to welcome you today to the banque de france together with the governor of the bank of japan, toshihiko fukui. yokosso ilashaimase! some of you have come as neighbours, and others have made the trip from tokyo to attend this symposium, for which i would like to thank you wholeheartedly. and, as 2008 has just begun, i would like to wish you a very happy new year : the year of the rat in the japanese calendar, “ akemashite omedeto gozaimasu nesumi doshi ”. i recently read the following prediction concerning this year : “ it will be particularly favourable for all forms of investments and savings ( we all know that rodents hoard their food ) ”. the prediction went on to say ( every word is true ) “ the influence of the rat curbs inflation ”. as a euro area central banker, i welcome this omen. but coming back to what gathers us here today, 2008 is the year of friendship between france and japan, celebrating the 150th anniversary of franco - japanese diplomatic and economic relations. ambassador iimura has agreed – and i thank him profusely for this – to make the introductory speech to remind us of the importance of this anniversary and the celebrations that will take place throughout the year. in order to celebrate this historic anniversary, we decided to organise this symposium in a place that itself has a very rich history : the golden gallery of the hotel de toulouse. i will mention in passing that 200 years ago this year the banque de france chose the hotel de toulouse for its head office. i will not, this morning, go into great depth about the history of this place. nevertheless, on a day like this, given over to history, i will just say that this gallery was designed in the early 17th century by francois mansart for m. de la vrilliere, a minister of louis xiii, and was then renovated in the style of the day at the beginning of the following century by robert de cotte, the first architect of louis xiv, for the count of toulouse ( the

our regions ’ economic cycles. although our financial systems have undoubtedly become more efficient thanks to innovation and globalisation, it remains to be seen as to whether progress has been made in terms of resilience. the central banks ’ role of keeping pace with these developments and assisting in periods of increased volatility highlights the importance of our co - operation and the resulting capital of trust. in this respect, i wholeheartedly thank all of the speakers and moderators here today, as they are further contributing towards strengthening this capital. according to a japanese proverb, “ with a friend at your side, no road seems too long ” ( « tabi ha michidure » ). governor fukui, i would venture to say that today ’ s celebration of the friendship between our two nations and more specifically between our two institutions will soon seem to us like a fleeting moment. however, i am also convinced that our institutions will continue the road together with constantly renewed pleasure derived from our productive and friendly exchanges. it is now with great pleasure that i give you the floor, governor fukui.