monetary policy, although whether the policy is actually unconventional or not can only be determined on a relative basis and perhaps through the use of retrospective wisdom. after all, contemporary monetary policy has not yet allowed for the accumulation of sufficient experience to enable us to define conventional monetary policy. the evaluation of the experience gained over the decade in the course of monetary policy ’ s evolution and the decision of how to move forward shall be made by you, who are responsible for the next generation. the central banking community is a very special one in which common values and cultures are shared. that is why we say “ once a central banker, always a central banker. ” looking back at the almost 40 years of my service at the central bank, there was not a single moment when i regretted being a central banker. i can assure you that the cooperation and personal relationships with central bankers in other countries is irreplaceable and invaluable for all of you. i do hope that you will make the most of the opportunity, like today ’ s seminar, to meet other countries ’ central bankers of the same generation in person and build ties within the central banking community. i would like to conclude my speech by once again welcoming you all to the central banking community and expressing my hope that your journeys in central banking life continue to be interesting and exciting. thank you. 15 / 15 bis central bankers'speeches

financial institutions ’ profits. however, i think it is of notable significance that the longheld belief that nominal interest rates cannot be negative was overturned, and that the idea evolved into an actual policy option. the fourth approach is reducing real interest rates by influencing people ’ s inflation expectations, instead of by cutting nominal interest rates. in the case of japan in particular, where deflation has persisted and the deflationary mindset has become entrenched among people, it is necessary to re - anchor medium - to long - term inflation expectations by exerting influence on people ’ s expectations. this will require the central bank ’ s strong commitment to achieving the inflation target, clear and consistent communication to the public, and determined actions to realize the commitment. let me now explain the bank of japan ’ s monetary policy after the global financial crisis, while bearing in mind the four measures composing the evolution of monetary policy to overcome the zero lower bound that i just mentioned ( chart 4 ). in response to the collapse of lehman brothers in 2008, the bank immediately reduced short - term policy interest rates, as did other central banks. as the pace of economic improvement remained sluggish, the bank in october 2010 decided to introduce the comprehensive monetary easing policy. specifically, it reduced the target level of short - term interest rates to 0 to 0. 1 percent and committed itself to maintaining the virtually zero interest rate level “ until it judges that price stability is in sight. ” in addition, it established the asset purchase program, through which it provided longer - term funds at a fixed rate and purchased various financial assets such as japanese government bonds ( jgbs ), corporate bonds, and exchange - traded funds ( etfs ). as these measures show, in order to overcome the zero lower bound, the bank affected longer - term interest rates through jgb purchases and forward guidance, and started to compress risk premiums through purchases of corporate bonds and etfs. in terms of the four approaches that i explained earlier, the bank adopted the first two. 5 / 15 bis central bankers'speeches although the bank continued to provide accommodative financial conditions through measures such as an expansion of the asset purchase program and strengthening of forward guidance, this did not result in a significant improvement in economic activity and prices. thus, the bank newly introduced an extremely powerful policy package in april 2013 — namely, qqe. under this framework, the bank shifted the main operating target from interest rates to the monetary base,