Introduction
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my great pleasure to join you today at the inaugural meeting of the Asia Pacific Initiative Forum. I am confident that this forum will develop into a central platform where Asian business leaders and policy makers can gather to share insights, forge new partnerships and develop new innovative ideas to tackle global as well as intraregional challenges.
Today, I would like to touch upon some characteristics and future challenges for Asia from a macro perspective. My speech will be based on my experience serving as Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance in Japan, President of the Asian Development Bank and Governor of the Bank of Japan.
I. An Asian Century
I would like to begin by first trying to put the word "Asia" into context.