At the Forum held on 15th December, 2008, Mr. Toshiro Muto gave a presentation titled "Prospects for the Global Economy in the face of the Financial Crisis". Mr. Muto has served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan and Administrative Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Finance, and is currently Chairman of the Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. Mr. Muto elaborated on the background of the global financial crisis, comparing experiences of Japan and the U.S. Some concrete measures were recommended to build a new financial architecture to revive the financial market.