It is a great honor to be invited to this meeting hosted by the Yomiuri International Economic Society today. This is my first speech as Governor of the Bank of Japan. Today, I would like to explain the "Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing" that we decided to embark on last week. I. Basic Thinking When I was appointed as the governor, I had the following basic thinking in mind. The first is that we should do whatever is necessary to overcome deflation, which has been causing a deterioration in Japan's economy for nearly 15 years. The Bank of Japan has engaged in a wide range of monetary easing efforts -- ... (full story)