UNLESS HE WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED as the Herbert Hoover of Japan, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto needs to act to rescue his country's economy -- and fast.

UNTIL THIS YEAR when Hideo Nomo started throwing fastballs for the Los Angeles Dodgers, most Americans couldn't even name a single Japanese citizen. A recent public opinion survey named Bruce Lee the single most famous Japanese. Too bad he was Chinese, not to mention dead for two decades now.…