Former Japanese Finance Minister Nakagawa Found Dead in Tokyo
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By Masaki Kondo
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Shoichi Nakagawa, who resigned as Japanese finance minister in February amid accusations of drunken behavior during an international conference in Rome, was found dead in his Tokyo home today. He was 56.
Nakagawa lost his parliamentary seat in Aug. 30 elections that saw the Liberal Democratic Party swept out of power after half a century of almost unbroken rule. He was not offered one of the party’s proportional representation seats.
A second-generation LDP lawmaker, Nakagawa was regarded as one of the party’s “aces,” according to Makoto Haga, chief strategist at Monex Group Inc. in Tokyo, who called his death a “painful blow” to a party that needs to rebuild.
“Compared with the widespread mistrust of the LDP, Nakagawa’s troubles didn’t have much impact on the election,” Haga said today. “The result would likely have been the same regardless.”
Police confirmed Nakagawa’s death and are investigating the cause, said a spokeswoman at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who declined to be identified. Masato Yoshida, head of Nakagawa’s office in Obihiro, northern Japan, also confirmed earlier reports of the death by Kyodo News.
After earning a degree at the University of Tokyo in 1978, Nakagawa worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan, one of the forerunners of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. He was elected to the lower house in 1983, winning the Hokkaido constituency his father earlier held, was appointed to ministerial posts including agriculture and trade, and served as the LDP’s chief policy maker.
Policy Actions
Named finance minister by then-Prime Minister Taro Aso in September 2008, Nakagawa sought to revive a Japanese economy that had shrunk 3 percent in the second quarter as factory production in August fell at the fastest pace in five years and unemployment reached a two-year high. Nakagawa urged coordinated policy actions by the U.S. and Europe to rein in the growing global financial crisis.
Nakagawa said he would consider a range of economic- stimulus polices including job training for young workers, “some kind of support to the markets” and extension of an earlier guarantee on life insurance policies.
Nakagawa slurred his words and appeared to be drunk during a press briefing after finance ministers and central bankers met in Rome Feb. 14 to deal with the global economic slowdown. He attributed his behavior to an overdose of cold medication combined with jet lag, before resigning.
“He could’ve aimed for prime minister had things played out differently,” Monex’s Haga said today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 4, 2009 00:51 EDT
Share | Email | Print | A A A
By Masaki Kondo
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Shoichi Nakagawa, who resigned as Japanese finance minister in February amid accusations of drunken behavior during an international conference in Rome, was found dead in his Tokyo home today. He was 56.
Nakagawa lost his parliamentary seat in Aug. 30 elections that saw the Liberal Democratic Party swept out of power after half a century of almost unbroken rule. He was not offered one of the party’s proportional representation seats.
A second-generation LDP lawmaker, Nakagawa was regarded as one of the party’s “aces,” according to Makoto Haga, chief strategist at Monex Group Inc. in Tokyo, who called his death a “painful blow” to a party that needs to rebuild.
“Compared with the widespread mistrust of the LDP, Nakagawa’s troubles didn’t have much impact on the election,” Haga said today. “The result would likely have been the same regardless.”
Police confirmed Nakagawa’s death and are investigating the cause, said a spokeswoman at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who declined to be identified. Masato Yoshida, head of Nakagawa’s office in Obihiro, northern Japan, also confirmed earlier reports of the death by Kyodo News.
After earning a degree at the University of Tokyo in 1978, Nakagawa worked at the Industrial Bank of Japan, one of the forerunners of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. He was elected to the lower house in 1983, winning the Hokkaido constituency his father earlier held, was appointed to ministerial posts including agriculture and trade, and served as the LDP’s chief policy maker.
Policy Actions
Named finance minister by then-Prime Minister Taro Aso in September 2008, Nakagawa sought to revive a Japanese economy that had shrunk 3 percent in the second quarter as factory production in August fell at the fastest pace in five years and unemployment reached a two-year high. Nakagawa urged coordinated policy actions by the U.S. and Europe to rein in the growing global financial crisis.
Nakagawa said he would consider a range of economic- stimulus polices including job training for young workers, “some kind of support to the markets” and extension of an earlier guarantee on life insurance policies.
Nakagawa slurred his words and appeared to be drunk during a press briefing after finance ministers and central bankers met in Rome Feb. 14 to deal with the global economic slowdown. He attributed his behavior to an overdose of cold medication combined with jet lag, before resigning.
“He could’ve aimed for prime minister had things played out differently,” Monex’s Haga said today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 4, 2009 00:51 EDT
