Daijiro Kato was the only true Japanese hope of winning a world championship to this day. His passing was a loss to Japan and motorcycling as a whole. I can't really sum it up any better than that.
Agree with Ooost, he would have won the champioship I feel, was so gutted when he had that fatal accident, the bike was a complete wreck, so many riders had big respect for him, Check the ones that sport his No. 74 on their leathers.. The Aoyama Bros, Gibbers, Rossi I think somewhere...
He was a great racer. Probably the most famous motorsport personality here in Japan. He died so early. Before he even had a chance to reach his full potential.