that was made available to the uk during the period from 1964 to 1977. the scheme was undertaken under the auspice of broader international initiatives, and the two central banks, in particular, were in very close cooperation. for details, please refer to the handout of a historical summary of major events that involved the uk - japan relationship. in this regard, i would also like to refer to some of the bank of england ’ s collections that are displayed in the showcase. the collections are commemorative of relations between the bank of england and japan as a whole. they are made available here today kindly by mr. keyworth, the archivist of the bank of england. concluding remarks finally, let me move from the past to the future. the future is always uncertain, but some current trends and changes can be certain in the future as well. among them are globalization and the advancement of communications technology. it is true that these things will reduce notional distance between countries, but nobody would deny the importance of direct face - to - face interactions between people in the market. as far as we understand it, the very strength of the london market comes from such direct face - to - face interactions between market participants, who work here in financial, accounting, legal and other related businesses. the london market attracts the best and brightest professionals and management from all over the world. in fact, their close interactions generate the dynamism of market development. that is why the bank of japan highly values information and insights that our london office gains from direct contacts here. moreover, that is why the bank of japan sees our london office as one of the important channels of communication to market participants. in concluding, i thank again, all the guests, predecessors and your institutions for the 100 - year - long friendship and cooperation. and i am convinced that this established good relationship will continue for another century. there is no “ exit policy ” from london. i wish all the best for each of you. thank you.

s economic activity and prices. meanwhile, japan's financial system has maintained stability on the whole. although attention is warranted on, for example, the impact of the tightening of global financial conditions, the financial system is likely to remain highly robust on the whole, even in the case of an adjustment in the real economy at home 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches and abroad and in global financial markets, mainly because japanese financial institutions have sufficient capital bases. regarding financial risks from a longer - term perspective, while there is a possibility that prolonged downward pressure on financial institutions'profits may lead to a gradual pullback in financial intermediation, the vulnerability of the financial system could increase, mainly due to the search for yield behavior. although these risks are judged as not significant at this point, it is necessary to pay close attention to future developments. ii. conduct of monetary policy next, i will explain the bank's conduct of monetary policy. the bank considers that sustainable and stable achievement of the price stability target is not yet envisaged with sufficient certainty at this point, and that it is important to closely monitor whether a virtuous cycle between wages and prices will intensify. in this situation, it will patiently continue with monetary easing under quantitative and qualitative monetary easing ( qqe ) with yield curve control, aiming to support japan's economic activity and thereby facilitate a favorable environment for wage increases. in october, the bank decided to conduct yield curve control with the upper bound of 1. 0 percent for 10 - year japanese government bond ( jgb ) yields as a reference and to control the yields mainly through large - scale jgb purchases and nimble market operations. this decision was based on the assessment that it was appropriate for the bank to increase the flexibility in the conduct of yield curve control. the bank will conduct monetary policy with the aim of achieving the price stability target of 2 percent in a sustainable and stable manner, accompanied by wage increases. thank you. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches