UPDATE 1-Japan Gyohten: Japan, China, US should stabilise dlr

* Large reserves mean China, Japan can support the dollar

* Dollar's status as global reserve currency under doubt

TOKYO, Oct 16 - Japan and China should cooperate with the United States to stabilise the dollar given the two Asian country's large currency reserves, said Toyoo Gyohten, an adviser to the Japanese Finance Minister.

The euro, the Australian and the New Zealand dollars hit new highs for the year against the dollar this week after positive U.S. data and encouraging corporate earnings prompted investors to put more money into currencies with higher yields than the greenback.

The dollar has been on the defensive recently due to the growing view that U.S. interest rates will remain low for some time and that its status as the world's premier currency has faded in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Gyohten's comments suggest it may be premature to say the dollar's role has been diminished.

"Some have voiced concern about the future of the dollar, but we cannot forget the amount of reserves Japan and China hold," Gyohten, who is also president of the Institute for International Monetary Affairs, said after giving a speech.

"Those reserves make Japan and China responsible for stability in the currency market."

China had $2.27 trillion of currency reserves, the world's largest. Japan's foreign exchange reserves are the second-largest at $1.05 trillion. The bulk of China's and Japan's reserves are believed to be held in dollar-denominated assets.

Gyohten was director general of the Ministry of Finance's international bureau at the time of the Plaza Accord in 1985, when rich countries agreed to let the dollar depreciate to reduce the United States' trade deficit.

He then served as Japan's top currency official until he retired from the finance ministry in 1989.