mind that banking is a service industry and banks should pay close attention to the needs of customers. we are beginning to see some movements toward this direction, and we hope that they will prevail. before closing, let me briefly touch on the outlook for the financial system. the removal of the full protection of deposits in settlement accounts, scheduled in april 2005, should not be perceived simply as a change in the type of coverage of deposit insurance. it should be regarded as the termination of special protection that has been provided as a temporary buffer to avoid potential confusion. it should be recognized as a turning point for the reform of banks'management, which is free from the protection of the government. in this regard, banks must have clear business strategies for strengthening their profitability. at the same time, banks must have capital bases that are sufficient relative to the risks associated with their new business model. if banks find their capital bases insufficient, they need to take measures to boost their capital. given the limited time remaining until the removal of blanket deposit insurance, i think it is desirable to establish a new framework for injecting public funds into banks as the " last instance of public support " in the event that they cannot raise sufficient capital in the market. the establishment of such a framework will facilitate the process of restoring the soundness and effective functioning of the financial system.

set up in 1998, defines price stability in terms of the year - on - year increase in the harmonised index of consumer prices and relies on a reference value for monetary growth. the bank of japan adopted a new monetary policy framework in 2006. it publishes an inflation rate that reflects the policy board members'understanding of medium - to long - term price stability. in line with this understanding, we examine the most likely outlook and assess risks most relevant to the conduct of monetary policy, which we call the two - perspective approach. in november 2006, the fed published a series of measures aimed at enhancing its communication strategy. one of them consisted in extending the economic and price forecasting horizon to three years. a three - year inflation forecast shows the inflation rate that the federal open market committee considers consistent with the objectives of the fed, i. e. price stability and maximum employment. these frameworks were devised by taking account of other countries ’ experiences and retaining the most suitable elements for their own economy. i believe that, in this area, central banks will increasingly draw on the experiences of other countries. countries share the same understanding of problems but at the same time stick to their uniqueness when taking decisions. this holds true in the area of monetary policy but also in numerous other areas within the evolving field of international relations. as in the case of art and gastronomy, which i talked about at the start of my speech, mutual influences lead to new innovations and blur borders through mutual understanding. this does not mean that we lose our uniqueness. in today ’ s conference, we will take a look at the economic and financial growth patterns of both france and japan and examines in - depth the economic problems with which each country is faced in the context of globalisation. i hope that it will give rise to a better mutual understanding of both economies and foster further emulation. thank you very much for your attention.