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TOKYO - Japan's interim central bank chief pledged yesterday not to let the absence of a governor hamper the country's economic and financial activities while another central bank official said the country's economy is slowing down "sharply."

The Bank of Japan has no governor after the opposition-controlled upper house of parliament rejected two government nominations in a row, saying they were too politically connected as former Ministry of Finance bureaucrats to uphold the central bank's independence.

The five-year term of former Gov. Toshihiko Fukui ended Wednesday.

A new central bank deputy head, Masaaki Shirakawa, whose nomination was approved last week, was named acting governor this week.

"We are in an unusual situation without a governor," Shirakawa said at a news conference yesterday. "But we cannot let the bank's operations stall.

I will fulfill my duties until a governor is appointed."

Kiyohiko Nishimura, the bank's other deputy governor, said Japan's economic slowdown is getting worse as Japan faces a tougher time exporting its products because of the rising strength of the yen against the U.S. dollar.

"The economy is slowing quite sharply, even though it is on a mild expansionary trend," he told the same news conference. "We need to manage policy extremely carefully."