TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he will press ahead with structural reform, warning that otherwise Japan's economy will never recover. "I will never loosen my grip on structural reform. Under any circumstances I will carry out structural reform. Without it Japan's economic growth cannot be achieved," Koizumi said during a joint press conference after a summit meeting with US President George W. Bush. The prime minister rejected an American reporter's comment that he had made no concrete progress on reform. "Reform is definitely being implemented," Koizumi said.