also been active in expanding sales channels through cooperating with administration and financial institutions. the united efforts by related parties will substantially contribute to raising the productivity of the regional economy. in the tourism sector, there were ambitious initiatives last year incorporating cycling and the arts into existing tourism resources to enhance the profile and attractiveness of the region, such as “ setouchi shimanowa 2014 ” in areas around the shimanami kaido bicycle path and “ dogo onsen art ” in dogo onsen. in addition, shikoku region was featured in the web version of the well - known michelin green guide, boosting the region ’ s international profile. while tourists from abroad tend to concentrate on metropolitan areas, hokkaido, and okinawa, promoting the region ’ s attractions not only to domestic but also to overseas tourists has the potential to substantially boost the regional economy. furthermore, the regional revitalization plan of saijo city was the only plan in shikoku region to be designated as a model of vitalization of the local economy. regarding the vitalization of the local economy, the government asked prefectures and municipalities to establish during fiscal 2015 their own long - term vision to overcome population decline and formulate regional versions of the government ’ s comprehensive strategy for vitalizing local economies. ehime prefecture, with a population that is declining and aging faster than japan ’ s population as a whole, will also need to implement comprehensive policy measures to raise the value added of regional industries in order to increase the productivity of the regional economy and to attract those in their prime of life or raising children to the prefecture. i believe that specific initiatives will be considered through further cooperation between the administration and the private sector, and the bank ’ s matsuyama branch will conduct analyses of the regional economy so as to contribute to such examination as much as possible. in closing, i wish all the best for the further development of the regional economy. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches bis central bankers ’ speeches

##after, following each meeting, whether or not there is a policy change, a summary of the assessment of the economic and price situation from the " two perspectives, " and the bank's thinking on the future conduct of monetary policy will be published along with the policy decision. of course, even under the previous arrangements, the background for the policy decision and the thinking behind the conduct of monetary policy had been communicated very fully at the press conference after the monetary policy meetings. however, from now on the main points will be communicated after each meeting in the form of a statement agreed upon by the policy board through discussion followed by a vote during the monetary policy meeting. the second enhancement is to provide each quarter the forecasts of policy board members on the economic growth rate and the inflation rate, and the risk balance charts. various shocks are always impacting the economy, and there are times when the outlook for the economy and prices needs to be altered. however, if forecasts are revised frequently on the basis of every new item of economic data that becomes available, this will confuse the market. the bank determined that quarterly publication of forecasts and the risk balance charts is appropriate. what i must stress here is that forecast numbers and charts are references that supplement the qualitative descriptions in the outlook report and the statement that follows each meeting. it would be simple if economic forecasts, which form the basis of policy decisions, could be expressed in one or two figures, but this is not the case, as in all other central banks. the outlook for the economy and prices is too complicated to be expressed in quantitative forecasts and risks. in this sense, qualitative evaluation of the mechanisms behind changes in the economy and prices, and the risks of the deviation from the main scenario are important. in the bank's publications, figures should always be read together with the written explanations to obtain a proper understanding. the third enhancement is to extend the forecast horizon for projections. the forecast horizon for projections in the outlook report published in april and october was for two fiscal years, the current and the next fiscal year. starting from this october, however, the projections in the october outlook report will extend to the fiscal year after next. in the case of other central banks, shorter forecast horizons are 1 to 2 years but some extend to around 3 years. the bank determined that in view of the transmission lag of monetary policy and the uncertainty in the economic outlook, it is appropriate to extend the forecast horizon as