A crash in the second timed session effectively ended Kato's attempt to set an even faster lap and despite a flurry of intense activity on the track in the final few moments of qualifying, none could best Kato's new circuit lap record of 1:49.052, set on Friday.

Motegi marks Kato's fourth race on the four-stroke, already having scored two second fastest laps in qualifying in that short period. Although tantalisingly close to the 1:48 barrier today, Kato was nonetheless content to sit out the final minutes of the session in pit lane, saving his best efforts for the race.

"It was a pity to crash in the second session, so we had to come in to change to the number two bike," said Kato. "We could not improve on my Friday time but I thought that it may be good enough take pole anyway. I am very happy to have my first MotoGP pole position in my home country and I hope to get a good start tomorrow."

A series of high-speed laps from Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) made him top two-stroke rider, in third, and the fastest man on the circuit in the second session overall. Despite his quite exceptional ride today Capirossi acknowledges that it may be a different story come the race.

"I rode well over 100% today to set that time but I think it will be impossible to maintain that speed in the race," admitted Capirossi. "I would like to thank my team for all the hard work this weekend so far but I think it will be too difficult again to compete against the four-strokes over the full race distance."

For Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) his first taste of RC211V power was an uplifting experience, despite being outqualified by his team-mate Capirossi. Barros is the fourth rider to be equipped with the all-conquering five-cylinder machine, although he has had no chance to test it before the Motegi race.

"My impressions of the four-stroke are very good, right from the start.  Good power, great acceleration coming out of corners, good handling - but it feels heavier. The engine braking is different compared to the NSR but the main thing we have to work on is the braking itself. The bike feels very heavy under braking, so we will try to improve that."

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) had a tough qualifying session by his own near immaculate standards, with the Italian superstar taking the sixth spot on the grid for his first race as the new MotoGP champion.

"For tomorrow we need to pull a rabbit from a hat!" exclaimed Rossi. "The bike does not feel too good at the moment. Basically I have no grip at the rear. When I brake straight away I have no control, and the rear tyre seems  to be spinning a lot slower than the front. I followed Biaggi for a while and I saw that he is using the whole track from edge to edge. I cannot ride like this at the moment because it is not possible to change direction quite as well. The answer may lie in the front forks. Tomorrow morning we will be busy!"

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) joined the second row club on home ground, seventh overall after a somewhat changeable run in qualifying over two days.

Said Ukawa: "Yesterday we were struggling with the whole set-up. The package just didn't feel right. We looked at the data and went back to many standard settings and this morning the bike was better. Not much better, but now we are going in the right direction. It will be so important to get a good start tomorrow because of the nature of this track."

Front wheel chatter was the main concern of Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500), as he proved frustrated in his attempts to overcome problems peculiar to the Motegi circuit. His 20th place contrasts sharply with his second row qualifying from the previous race at Rio.

"We have some lack of grip and severe chatter problems," explained a doleful van den Goorbergh. "I think it is due to the track surface. We have spent all weekend trying to get rid of the problem but nothing works. We have tried a wide variety of suspension settings and so on, but there is no real improvement. I think for the race it's not going to work either."

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) finished one place behind van den Goorbergh in 21st, only marginally improving his Friday time.

Daijiro Kato, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 1st: "I was going well and I didn't have any problems. I was entering a corner with the rear tyre a little oblique and my line not perfect. Then the front end tucked under and I crashed. No damage to me, only the bike. Anyway the crash didn't ruin my great day and I held onto pole position. For me it's really important to be in front here in Japan: it's a real satisfaction and an honour for my first pole in MotoGP."

Fausto Gresini: "Maintaining the pole, following a crash, means that Kato was really fast. Today the crash was a shame because he was going really well. Daijiro crashed at a point where the track causes a violent reaction from a stressed the front end: it's something that can happen. This is one of the experiences we are having with this bike. When he restarted on the second bike I knew that he could not improve on his time: there was no feeling with the bike. Now the mechanics have to rebuild the number one bike and tomorrow we will again be in really good shape."

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons: 3rd: "I pushed really hard, giving everything I had and trying to squeeze the maximum performance out of the bike because clearly it is not easy lapping in these times with the same bike as last season. I tried everything and I earned a just reward. We would like to congratulate my team for the work they have done. They have given 110% for me and this result is also thanks to them. However, I know well that I will struggle in the race against the four-strokes."

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons, 5th: "I am convinced that I have a big chance tomorrow in the race and I am well satisfied with my performance even though I did not manage to get on the front row of the grid. I have had a few tyre problems, but the Michelin technicians warned me of this beforehand. I am lapping constantly quickly which bodes well for the race, and at last I will be able to fight for victory under the same conditions. I would also like to congratulate Loris who was fantastic with the two-stroke bike."

Sito Pons: "I am very happy with the performance of both riders and the results obtained. Loris was quite simply brilliant, improving by more than seven tenths of a second on last year's time and this is even more praiseworthy if you take into account he is riding the same bike as last year. Alex, meanwhile, also put in a good performance and we should not overlook the fact that he has only ridden the bike for four practice sessions. He has lapped constantly and this gives me high hopes for the race tomorrow."

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team, 6th: "For tomorrow we need to pull a rabbit from a hat! The bike does not feel too good at the moment. Basically I have not grip on the rear. When I brake, straightaway I have no control. The rear tyre seems to be going a lot slower! I followed Biaggi for a while and I can see he is using all of the track from edge to edge. I cannot ride like this at the moment because it is not possible to change direction as well. I'm losing a lot of time because on this track you have to stay very much on the edge. It is not a disaster though. We have a lot of data and we have much experience in the team. We really have to find a way of keeping more weight on the rear. The answer may lie in the front forks. Tomorrow morning we will be busy!"

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda Team, 7th: "Yesterday we were struggling with the whole set-up. The package just didn't feel right. We looked at the data and went back to many of the standard settings. This morning the bike was better. Not much better, but we're going in the right direction. I stayed out for a long time this morning and the tyre wear was constant and we were getting consistent lap times. The session this afternoon started off really well. I was immediately faster than my time yesterday but it was impossible to improve further. It is sometimes easy to make a big jump but finding a little bit extra is where we are at the moment. It will be so important to get a good start tomorrow because of the nature of the track. I need to pick up the momentum of the season for the critical last few races. The win in Welkom seems a long time ago. I really want that feeling back!"

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Kanemoto Honda Team : "This has been our worst qualifying of the whole season. Basically nothing we try works. The front end is really sensitive and the chatter is causing me all kinds of problems. If I try to go any faster I will land in the gravel trap, or crash and I don't intend to do that. This is all so disappointing for us as we had qualified in eighth place in Rio and we came here in confident mood. In Rio I could follow the best two-strokes out there, no problem - here we are 2.7s behind the best two-stroke!"

Team owner - manager Erv Kanemoto: "I'm at a loss to explain where we are right now. We have run into problems with machine settings that we've had before, and fixed OK. This time, however, we have not found a solution to the front-end chatter we have. I'm quite disappointed with that. We have a lot of work to do in the warm up tomorrow. We have a couple of ideas to try which might help us improve."