• Note for First-Time Users
• How to Search for the Information You Need
• How to Print
• How to View Different Types of Files
• Other Matters
• Contact

Note for First-Time Users

Welcome to the Bank of Japan's web site (hereafter "the site").

This page provides a useful guide to using the site.

If you are a first-time user, please read this guide, along with the Copyright,Disclaimer,and Other Related Matters and Privacy Policy.

How to Search for the Information You Need

You can browse around the site to search for the information you need by using the following navigation systems, which appear on every page of the site.

(1) Global navigation

On top of the page, you will find global navigation sorted by the Bank's policy and operations. This will take you to the main categories of the relevant section at any time.

(2) Sub-navigation

On the left side of the page, you will find sub-navigation, located under the section you chose in global navigation. This will take you to more detailed categories at any time.

(3) Reference area

On the right side of the page, you will find links to research papers and speeches and other related contents on the section you chose in global navigation.

(4) Topic path navigation

On the upper part of the page title, you will find a topic path (for example, Home >Help above the page title "Help").

The topic path locates the current page in the context of a navigation path.

Words on the topic path will be underlined once you locate the cursor. Please click and you will be linked to the relevant section.

(5) Search

The site search is powered by Google Custom Search.

If you click on the search box at the right of the very top of the page, you can search for the information throughout the entire site and will be directly linked to the information you are searching for.

Recommended browsers for the site search are as follows.

• Google Chrome (latest version)
• Firefox 3.6 or higher
• Internet Explorer 8.0 or higher
• Safari 4.0 or higher

How to Print

All the printed pages from the site exclude sections such as the header, footer, and global navigation.

To print background colors and images with Internet Explorer, for example, open Tools, select Internet Options, switch to the Advanced tab, and enable Print background colors and images in the Printing section.

How to View Different Types of Files

The site offers you information in various types of files such as the following.

Icon	How to view the files
	PDF (Portable Document Format, extension .pdf) You need Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher to view this file. You can view the PDF file with a click on this icon.
	Zip-compressed MS-Word or MS-Excel files (extension .zip or .lzh) You need a software to decompress or to open .zip and .lzh files.
	The icon indicates files ending with a ".csv" extension. You can open the files by using spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. The data file's date display represents the year in integers and the month in decimals. Note that "October 2010" could potentially be indicated as "2010.1". If this occurs, please change your spreadsheet software format so that two digits are displayed to the right of the decimal point.
	The icon indicates files ending with a ".txt" extension. It is recommended that you save the file before opening it by using spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. The data file's date display represents the year in integers and the month in decimals. Note that "October 2010" could potentially be indicated as "2010.1". If this occurs, please change your spreadsheet software format so that two digits are displayed to the right of the decimal point.

Other Matters

Please note that contents on the site are deleted after a certain period of time, depending on the item, following the release. The Bank also reserves the right to alter or erase the contents of the site without prior notification.

Please forward any technical queries about the site to the following contact.

Contact

E-mail :