Justice Minister Kokichi Shimoinaba said he has decided to allow Goldberger, a three-time World Cup champion and a potential medalist at Nagano, into the country under his special authority.

The Japanese government does not allow convicted drug users into the country as a matter of policy, but Shimoinaba said in a statement that he is waving the rules out as Japan is hosting the winter games, opening Feb. 7.

Shimoinaba said Goldberger must, however, submit a written pledge that he will ''abide by the laws and regulations of our country'' upon entering Japan.

Goldberger, 25, was fined 180,000 schillings (about 1.8 million yen) by a Vienna court in September last year after he admitted that he had cocaine in his possession while he was in Vienna in September 1996.

The Austrian government has told Japan that the penalty imposed on Goldberger is the lightest under Austria's antidrug law and that he no longer has a criminal record after having paid the fine, Shimoinaba said.

Goldberger admitted last April that he had tried cocaine at a Vienna disco a year earlier and was later banned for six months by the Austrian ski federation.