At the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland last month, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara reportedly attracted more attention than Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

The reason is that while the prime minister gave a predictable presentation expressing optimism about Japan's economic future, the governor made, among others, the following more controversial points:

(1) It was the United States that intentionally damaged the economies of Asia by causing the financial crisis of 1997. (2) The U.S. continues to block Japan's attempts to exert more influence in the world. (3) American-style standards are not the "global standard."