TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's economic reform plans could help boost Japan's stockmarket and ease other economic problems faced by the country and the region, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "The actions prime minister Koizumi has suggested ... deal with these issues in a very fundamental and structural way," Powell said in Tokyo after meeting with Koizumi. Powell had been asked to comment on the 16-year lows reached by the Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei 225 index. While he declined to comment specifically on the stockmarket, he said that if Koizumi's broad reforms work, they would alleviate the country's economic problems. Powell also pledged Washington's full support for the reform programme, saying a strong Japanese economy was vital to the economic interests of both the US and the rest of Asia. "My government fully supports Prime Minister Koizumi's economic reform agenda and we stand ready to help him in any way we can. "All parts of the US government will be working with their Japanese counterparts to make those efforts successful," Powell said.