Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami on Monday reiterated his opposition to an inflation target.

"With various structural problems in the nation's economy, introducing inflation targeting would involve a risk of destabilizing the markets and the economy," Hayami told a quarterly meeting of BOJ branch managers.

He restated his view that deregulating the economy, reforming the tax code and restructuring government spending are the best ways to achieve sustainable economic growth.

Though pressure on the BOJ to adopt an inflation target has recently met with some criticism, the government and coalition lawmakers have been urging the central bank to further ease its credit grip to fight ongoing deflation.

While the economy has stabilized as a whole, Hayami said told the managers of New York, London and Hong Kong branches and 32 domestic branches, there is still substantial uncertainty about the prospects of a recovery.

He cited uncertainty over the world economy and a possible U.S.-led military strike on Iraq as risk factors for the Japan's economy.