be put into three groups. the first is the case of sweden. in sweden, decrease in the outstanding amount of cash in circulation, having reached less than two percent of gdp, is behind their motivation to explore the possibility of the issuance of cbdc. as a result of a significant growth in cashless payments, the number of retail stores accepting cash has decreased, and people are sometimes facing difficulties doing their daily shopping by cash. under these circumstances, the central bank is aiming to provide all the people with access to central bank money. the second is the case of emerging economies, such as cambodia and the bahamas. in these economies, infrastructures related to domestic currency and payments have remained immature, but smartphones have spread everywhere. in such an environment, rebuilding the payment and settlement systems from scratch is a viable agenda, and it is easier to adopt the latest technology. the third is the case of china. though details of the design are as yet unknown, according to information officially released up to now, the people ’ s bank of china ( pboc ) clearly aims at issuing cbdc as a substitute for cash in circulation. the pboc will not only focus on the reduction of cash handling cost but also on addressing the risks of counterfeiting, as well as preventing money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism ( aml / cft ). the situation is different in major advanced economies, including japan. the need for cbdc is not necessarily increasing, as observed in the aforementioned countries. in many advanced economies, the outstanding amount of cash in circulation is still growing annually. at this point, there is no need to implement new steps to ensure people ’ s access to central bank money. moreover, the currency systems and the payment and settlement systems of these economies are operating safely and stably. they cannot simply jump into new technologies, or actually, they should not. aml / cft is an important issue, but the most advanced economies consider that they should first be addressed through regulatory and supervisory measures. issues regarding cbdc what, then, will be the roles and functions expected for cbdc, other than those discussed in these cases? to respond to this question, it might be beneficial to review the fundamental roles of the currency. in this way, not only potential benefits of cbdc, but also various issues that need to be addressed will come to light. to support economic activities, it is essential to have payment instruments that are safe, reliable, cheap and

the development of capital markets, especially the corporate bond markets. in emerging asia, there would be huge financing needs for building social infrastructure such as public transportation, energy supply and communication networks. in view of the length of financing needs for building infrastructure as well as the risks associated with possible maturity mismatches, a well - functioning capital market, as well as credit intermediation through banks, should play an important role in such long - term domestic financing. moreover, the co - existence of different financing tools such as bank borrowing and corporate bonds could enhance the resilience of the financial systems. in this regard, asia has already taken various steps including the introduction of asian bond fund. japan ’ s possible contribution toward financial developments in asia on this front, i firmly believe that japan is able to contribute to asian financial stability as well as to the development of financial infrastructure in asia, for two reasons. first, japan ’ s financial system, on the whole, is being stable and resilient. given that japan experienced a financial crisis in 1990s, various measures have already been taken to strengthen its financial system. partly due to such efforts, japan ’ s financial system have remained mostly stable, surviving successive events such as the failures of lehman brothers and other financial institutions, the great east japan earthquake and the european debt problem. to date, internationally active japanese banks have generally set aside sufficient capital, and are in a position to contribute, as financial intermediaries, to satisfying asian needs for various financial services. second, not only for internationally active japanese banks but also for japanese non - financial firms, establishing linkages with other asian economies is now at the core of their overseas business strategies. internationally active japanese financial institutions are now allocating their resources to asian businesses as a part of their global strategies and increasing their lending in asia. they are also exploring various businesses such as m & a financing in asia. for example, japanese “ mega ” banks ’ loans to asia as a share of their total overseas loans is continuously increasing, and has now reached around 30 percent ( chart 12 ). recently, some european banks are streamlining their exposures to emerging economies, and japanese banks are filling a part of the void created by such “ deleveraging ” of european banks ( chart 13 ). such japanese banks ’ activities would certainly contribute to stable financial intermediation in asia. bis central bankers ’ speeches also for japanese non - financial firms, economic developments in asia also provide a new growth frontier. in view