A crowd roughly three times larger than the capacity of Science Center A packed that lecture hall, an adjacent lobby and steps outside yesterday to catch a glimpse of the former prime minister of Japan.

Ryutaro Hashimoto's remarks in an hour-long speech, on topics ranging from Japanese-American relations to the inner workings of Japanese holding companies, were entirely in Japanese. One-third of the audience donned small headsets to hear an English translation.

Hashimoto's entourage sat on plastic chairs in front of a chalkboard, on which a tacked-up crimson banner read, "The Harvard Radcliffe Kendo Club welcomes his Excellency Ryutaro Hashimoto."

The informal affair was dubbed "auspicious" by Susan J. Pharr, director of Harvard's program on U.S.-Japan relations. Hashimoto drew laughs by saying he thought he was expected not to comment on world affairs, but to challenge Harvard students to a Kendo sparring session.

Hashimoto then delved into world issues, sharing his opinions about market economies, currency exchange and international relations.

"The concepts of human rights and international standards started in the West," Hashimoto said. "The United States is the only giant [in the world]. The question is, how will America steer the ship?"

Midway through the speech, Hashimoto snatched a manila packet from an assistant sitting near the podium, pulled several sheets of paper out and read off numbers detailing dollar/yen exchange rates.

He then tackled the issue of the yen's position in a global economy increasingly dominated by the dollar and euro.