Professional Luncheon
Tatsuru Uchida,
Professor of Kobe College,
Author of best-selling "Nihon Henkyoron"

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation

The full text of this notice will be posted shortly.

MENU
Sandwich: Chicken, bacon, ham, lettuce, tomato, dijon mustard, mayonnaise on baguette
Hot Plate: Sauteed salmon with asparagus, savoy cabbage, fondant potatoes, red wine & shallot Sauce

Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. The charge for members/non-members is 1,350/2,300 yen for the sandwich plate and 1,700/2,600 yen for the hot plate, non-members eligible to attend may pay in cash. Reservations canceled less than one hour in advance for working press members, and 24 hours for all others, will be charged in full. Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.

Professional Activities Committee

Panel Discussion
Richard Jerram, Head of Asian Economics, Macquarie Securities
Masaaki Kanno, Chief Economist, JP Morgan
Eisuke Sakakibara, Professor of Waseda University

The speech will be in English

"Japan in a deflationary spiral?"

*Please note that the lunch will be served from 11:15 and the speech will begin at 11:45.

Is Japan on the verge of a deflationary spiral -- or is it simply going through a period of "price adjustment?" Prices that continually fall inevitably deter consumption and investment, a self-perpetuating process that can lead to economic stagnation and further deflation.

Can Japan escape this fate and, if so, how? What can an already heavily indebted Japanese government do through fiscal stimulus to spur demand and counter deflationary pressures? How much more can the Bank of Japan -- which has already pushed short-term interest rates down to nearly zero -- do in order to fight deflation? And could it do more to push down long-term rates? Might the Japanese central bank be forced to finance further government stimulus by "printing money?" Are there other ways of tackling deflation -- such as by depreciating the yen, for example? The issues of how Japan's economic malaise should be tackled are at the heart of the war of words between Finance Minister Naoto Kan and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa.

We have invited three experts to discuss Japan's narrowing economic options. Eisuke Sakakibara, former vice finance minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Finance and now a professor at Waseda University, is of the view that factors such as the emergence of China and other key economies as global producers of low-cost goods are behind Japan's deflation problems. He had a long and distinguished career in the ministry, culminating in his appointment as vice minister at the time of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Richard Jerram, head of Asian Economics for Macquarie Capital Securities, has analyzed the region for more than two decades but specialized in Japan. He was initially in Tokyo during the bubble years of the late 1980s, which was followed by a period working and studying for a doctorate in London before he returned to Japan in 1996.

A former senior official of the Bank of Japan, Masaaki Kanno served as secretary to the governor in charge of Diet issues at the BoJ and was deputy chief representative in Europe, as well as serving as associate director in charge of the central bank's research and statistics department. He is currently managing director and Chief Economist at JP Morgan.

MENU
Sandwich: Prawn, tomato, avocado, dill mayonnaise on champagne
Hot Plate:Spiced skirt-steak with peppers, red onion, sauteed potatoes, spinach & parsley butter

Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. The charge for members/non-members is 1,350/2,300 yen for the sandwich plate and 1,700/2,600 yen for the hot plate, non-members eligible to attend may pay in cash. Reservations canceled less than one hour in advance for working press members, and 24 hours for all others, will be charged in full. Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.

Professional Activities Committee