Ishihara, an unrepentant nationalist who heads the world's largest metropolis, has warned that Japan could become a US or Chinese colony if its people do not act to protect themselves.

"Japanese no longer have the image of Japan as a national identity," the 75-year-old governor told AFP in an interview.

"At the most, they think of their town, their family, their company. That is why Japanese are unable to change Japan on their own. If North Korea launches a missile, the Japanese would instantly change," he said.

North Korea in 1998 fired a missile over Japan's main island, although Ishihara has in the past belittled Pyongyang's ability to pose a serious military threat.

Ishihara, who was easily elected last year to a third term, is a darling of Japanese nationalists.

His comments came amid growing tension over the presence of US troops in Japan, following the arrest in Okinawa of a US Marine on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl.

Ishihara, speaking before the Marine's arrest, said the Japanese were reluctant to try to change the US-Japan alliance even if they were "dissatisfied" with it.

"At the same time they do not desire a Japan with a strong military either. Because of that odd contradictory sentiment, Japan is gradually becoming colonised," he said.

Japan has been officially pacifist since World War II and hosts more than 40,000 US troops on its soil under a security alliance.

Okinawa, which was under US control from 1945 to 1972, is home to more than half the troops, and their presence causes frequent friction with local residents.

Ishihara, an independent who has been supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, has said he recalls as a child disliking US forces stationed in Japan after World War II.

He told AFP he hoped Japan would gain military strength and free itself from dependence on the United States, although it was not yet ready to do so.

"It will become possible to no longer have the bases when Japan has sufficient armaments," he said.

Ishihara delights in making provocative statements, and has used derogatory terms for Tokyo's Chinese and Korean residents.

A well-regarded novelist, he stormed onto the political stage in 1989 by co-authoring "The Japan that Can Say No," which accused leaders of the then booming economy of weakness in their dealings with Washington.

"I am the last person to say no," he said.

"If we do unwise things, Japan might also become the sixth star on China's flag. China is extremely passionate about expanding its territory."

Ishihara has won support for his strong-arm policies, including forcing polluting vehicles out of Tokyo to improve air quality.

He is now passionately championing Tokyo's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, eight years after this year's Beijing Olympics seen as showcasing China's rise onto the world stage.

Tokyo hosted the Olympics in 1964 in the first Games in Asia, which were seen as a symbol of Japan's dramatic rebirth from the devastation of World War II.

Despite his bid to woo support from other countries, Ishihara refuses to apologise for Japan's wartime aggression.

"Has France apologised for its invasion of Indochina? Has the Netherlands for Indonesia?" he asked.

"Because Japan waged the Second World War, every colony controlled by white people became independent."

He said his view was reinforced when he met Gamel Abdel Nasser and Sukarno, the late leaders of Egypt and Indonesia.

"They both told me: 'You know why we were both able to be independent? It's because of the war you Japanese made.'"

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