TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Japan is not facing the threat of an imminent financial crisis even if the risk is there, although the deflationary state of the economy is a concern for the rest of the world, International Monetary Fund first deputy managing director Ann Krueger said. "I don't think anybody said that a crisis is coming so much as people say there is a risk," Kreuger told reporters. "I do not think based on what I learned that we are in a situation where anything is imminent," she said, after meetings with key finance officials including Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa and Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa. She said the deflationary state of the Japanese economy is, however, a matter of concern. "Everyone is concerned with the deflationary pressure in Japan. The obvious prescription is to have as easy a monetary policy as possible and the BoJ (Bank of Japan) has indicated a great deal of flexibility in this regard," she said. Over the longer term, however, it would be necessary for Japan to put structural reforms in place that would provide for more productive investment opportunities, Krueger said.