Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa

Finance Minister Nakagawa resigns over G-7 behavior

Tuesday 17th February, 05:12 PM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 57 Total Comments Show All

herefornow at 08:23 PM JST - 17th February

Glad he took some personal responsibility, even though he'll likely be back in another LDP-led cabinet within 24 months. Which is the whole point/problem. As glad as I am to see him go, there is nobody better waiting in the wings to take his place. Just some more retreads.
flammenwerfer at 09:15 PM JST - 17th February

flammenwerfer, what have you been taking?

I stand corrected! indeed it is in Japan, I was told don't bring Codral into japan as it had codiene and you would get busted. Have also seen it written and heard it several times (that it was illegal)- guess it's a well entrenched urban myth. (perhaps it was the pseudoehpedrine that was the trouble with codral?) which in fact is what Nakagawa should have been taking in the first place: medicine with pseudoephedrine - which makes you wide awake and wired. No chance to get drowsy. BTW Pabron gold? that stuff doesnt do anything for me!

On NHK news they are tearing a Nakagawa a new proverbial, showed giving a speech to the Diet, riddled with errors. Get rid of him A.s.a.p
JoiceRojo at 09:28 PM JST - 17th February

Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday he will step down to take the blame for his unusual behavior

Was he sober? pity, in my country there is a saying that drunks and kids always tell the truth
Bogi at 09:38 PM JST - 17th February

For a country that condones sleeping in the Diet on a daily basis, this seems weird to me. I would assume that a drunk person is more able to execute their duties than a sleeping person.
medievaltimes at 11:12 PM JST - 17th February

Nakagawa previously raised eyebrows when he made as many as 26 errors in reading his policy speech before the lower house in late January.

Saw this on the news and it was really sad. His hands were shaking and he was loaded to the point he couldn't read.

There is such a thing as a functional alcoholic but he is clearly not one of them. What is really sad is that nobody did something in January. The guy clearly needs help.

BUT NO! Denial, saving face and illogical explanations will continue to be at the front of the Japanese phyche.
onewrldoneppl at 11:31 PM JST - 17th February

how did those two bookend, buffoons on either side of him allow him to attend the press conference when he was clearly impaired. one of them had to help him out of the room @ the end of the Q&A. morons. if the floor's a mess, at least know how to sweep it under the rug.
onewrldoneppl at 11:33 PM JST - 17th February

in all honesty, finance minister is not like being a truck driver/train conductor. one needn't be sober to do one's job ... ha ha ha. maybe liquorin'up even makes it easier to make policy decisions.
unscrejects at 11:34 PM JST - 17th February

Hypocrits! They should know better - the man was sent on a mission - attend the G7 meeting - Fine if we leave it at that. But in a meeting of seven people he would be expected to say something right? However this is not the case for Japan. He'd be expected to keep his mouth shut or simply to say, "Yes but..." Don't blame him for falling a sleep from whatever cause. Fact of the matter is that the guy saved himself from the humilation of being the impotent one among seven men. Has anybody here ever seen a Japanese minister in an international conference - especially one in which they are discussing exchange rates? Besides, they set up the PM by not showing him footage of the actual meeting where he was first reported to be asleep.
some14some at 11:41 PM JST - 17th February

Super Tuesday !
catiano at 12:24 AM JST - 18th February

... a lot of young people in japan act and talk like that, too.
mistersmarmy at 01:38 AM JST - 18th February

Japan is becoming like North Korea - just wanting to grab as much publicity as possible.
mistersmarmy at 01:42 AM JST - 18th February

we have to wait for 1 year in 2010 for japan to finally have a quality politician as its leader. goodbye aso, goodbye ozawa, hello okada.
VOR at 03:32 AM JST - 18th February

i hope he gets some counselling. alcohol and shame are toxic combinations for Japanese especially if they decide to follow the script.
Sammi33 at 07:29 PM JST - 18th February

Japanese politician does normal behavior of going to nomikai every night. Japanese politician does normal behavor of sleeping during a meeting. Japanese politician lies and then quits when he realizes he didn't fool anyone. Yawn. next?
Nessie at 07:57 PM JST - 18th February

He was on StimuFed, for temporary relief of post-bubble economic donwturn. Common side effects of StimuFed include insomnia, dizziness, headache, nervousness, loss of appetite and upset stomach. Rare side effects of include irregular heartbeat, chest pain, rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, breathing problems, difficulty speaking, and seizures.

StimuFed should not be used within 2 weeks of using a BOJ-inhibitor. Check with your physician before combining it with the following: International conferences, Wild Turkey, all-nighters.