Japan minister denies being drunk at G7 - Hindustan Times
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Japan minister denies being drunk at G7

AFP | By, Tokyo
Feb 16, 2009 11:23 PM IST

Japan's Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa denied being drunk at a G7 meeting on the financial crisis and blamed cold medicine for appearing drowsy and slurring his speech at a press conference.

Japan's Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa on Monday denied being drunk at a G7 meeting on the financial crisis and blamed cold medicine for appearing drowsy and slurring his speech at a press conference.

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Nakagawa's performance after the weekend Group of Seven meeting in Rome came under fire from the media and the opposition called for him to be sacked.

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One tabloid headline blared "Drunk!?" while television shows said they worried not just about the health of the global economy, but also of the finance minister, who is reputed to be a hard drinker.

Nakagawa, 55, looked drowsy and could not speak clearly during Saturday's joint press conference with Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa after the G7 meeting.

"Something like a joint statement was issued...," he told reporters as he appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open.

"Interest rates, uh, set by the BoJ are between zero and 0.25 percent and very low ...," he said to the visible dismay of the central bank chief sitting next to him. The BoJ's target rate is now 0.1 percent.

He also mistakenly thought a question for Shirakawa was directed at himself.

"This should deserve immediate firing. It's a scandalous act," the secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party, Yukio Hatoyama, told reporters.

Nakagawa denied he had been drunk.

"I had a cold. Honestly, the cold medicine kicked in too much," he told reporters early Monday. "I did not drink before the G7," he added, sniffing loudly.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, the top government spokesman, said what happened in Rome was "extremely regrettable" while noting the minister had apologised by telephone.

Nakagawa's bungling came as government data showed Monday that Japan's economy shrank at the fastest pace since 1974 in the October-December quarter of 2008.

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