issued " shariah parameters " aimed at promulgating a standard point of reference on shariah for islamic finance practitioners. the shariah parameters outline the main shariah requirements in the contracts and provides examples, methods and models for practical application of such contracts. the first shariah parameter on murabahah that was recently issued aimed to promote consistent interpretation and application of shariah views and opinions on murabahah contracts. in providing legal services, the industry has an important role of bridging the shariah parameter with the legal parameters of the islamic financial contracts. this is in particular important in preparing the legal documentation of islamic financial transactions so as to avoid ambiguity, inconsistency and to avoid the risk that the legal document be considered void by a court of law on the grounds of contravention with shariah. islamic financial transactions have their own unique risk characteristics that need to be managed. risk areas that are unique to islamic finance transactions include the legal risk of losses due in the event of lawsuits and non - compliance with relevant laws, the risks associated with non - compliance of shariah principles and the fiduciary risk arising from failure to perform contractual obligations based on the underlying shariah principles. the introduction of new, more innovative and complex products and financial transactions enables the disaggregation and repackaging of risks in ways that has not been explored. shariah advisors would require the collective expertise including legal practitioners, to identify and understand the permissibility of a given structure. islamic financial institutions in turn would need to address the attendant implications. in view of the importance for islamic finance to be supported by a robust legislative framework, the new central bank of malaysia act 2009 explicitly codifies the duality of the malaysian financial system which shall consist of the islamic financial system and the conventional financial system. this statement of law is supported by a comprehensive legal framework already put in place for the regulation of islamic finance in malaysia, encompassing the banking, takaful ( islamic insurance ) and islamic capital market industries. the legal recognition of the distinct features of islamic financial transactions and the availability of a dispute settlement mechanism capable of applying these distinctive features reduces the legal risks as well as risk of non - compliance with shariah principles. institutional structure that is determined by the legal and administrative framework is the first pillar of competitiveness. the ability to execute financial transactions efficiently, with sufficient certainty and enforceability, and a clear process for resolving

japan ’ s economic recovery in the past was that it started with an increase in exports and production, thereby centering on the manufacturing sector. however, unlike the pattern of past recoveries, the major feature of the recovery this time is that it is led by the nonmanufacturing sector against the backdrop of firmness in domestic demand such as private consumption and public investment. that might be because, while consumption by senior citizens and reconstruction - related spending have been underpinning domestic demand, there also have been effects of various stimulus policy measures under “ abenomics ” and improvement in household sentiment on the back of high expectations for the current economic policy management, as well as favorable developments in financial markets. indeed, while exports and production remain short of the pre - lehman crisis levels, tertiary industry activity index – an indicator of the state of economic activity in the nonmanufacturing sector – has come close to the pre - lehman crisis level. a pick - up in business fixed investment also has taken place mainly in the non - manufacturing sector, as i mentioned earlier. the non - manufacturing sector requires more human resources than the manufacturing sector. at present, improvement in employment and income, mainly in the non - manufacturing sector, is supporting private consumption in a virtuous cycle. the virtuous circle from income to spending has been gradually taking hold, and this has supported resilience in domestic demand. such development is expected to continue. recent developments and outlook for overseas economies in this recovery, the resilience in domestic demand has been pronounced. exports are picking up, although they remain lackluster so far. in considering the future of japan ’ s economy, it is important that overseas economies pick up while domestic demand is resilient, and that the economy move to a phase led by domestic demand and external demand as a pair of wheels. let me now turn to the recent developments in overseas economies. overseas economies as a whole are gradually heading toward a pick - up. looking at respective regions, the u. s. economy is on a moderate recovery trend owing to firm private demand in the face of the fiscal drag. as for the fiscal situation, government debt increased significantly, mainly due to large - scale fiscal spending after the lehman crisis. in response, there have been moves toward fiscal consolidation, and austerity measures – including an expiration of various tax reductions and a start to budget sequestration – have been taken since the turn of the year. in the