Former Japanese finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa, who was forced to resign over his apparently drunken behavior at a meeting of world leaders, was found dead at his home, police said yesterday. He was 56.
His sudden death sent a shock wave through the country, with leaders of both ruling and opposition parties regretfully recalling the arch-hawk’s turbulent political career.
Nakagawa was lying face down on a bed at his home in Tokyo’s residential district of Setagaya when his wife found him early yesterday, police and news reports said.
“We will soon conduct an autopsy and specify the cause of his death,” a spokeswoman for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said.
No suicide note was discovered and there was no suggestion of foul play, police said. News reports said he had been dead for up to eight hours before he was found.
Jiji Press news agency said Nakagawa had recently been taking sleeping pills as he was suffering from insomnia, while TV Asahi reported the cause of his death was likely to be illness.
Nakagawa, a close ally of then-prime minister Taro Aso, was incoherent and slurred his speech at a news conference in February after the G7 talks in Rome amid the global economic crisis.
A heavyweight in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Nakagawa said he had sipped some wine with lunch before the press conference, but blamed jet lag and cold medicine for his drowsiness.
“I’m too shocked to think of any words to say,” Aso was quoted by public broadcaster NHK as saying after hearing the news.
“As finance minister and state minister for finance services, he backed the Aso administration with his outstanding ability as we were tackling the financial crisis,” he said. “I offer my condolences.”
The debacle dealt a blow to Aso, who resigned last month after his conservative LDP suffered a massive defeat against Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan in August.
“I was so surprised to hear about his sudden death,” Hatoyama was quoted by Jiji as saying. “I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.”
Nakagawa, who had made no secret about his fondness for drinking, promised to swear off alcohol ahead of the elections, but lost his seat in his rural constituency in Hokkaido.
“I have no power anymore,” a disappointed Nakagawa told his supporters following the poll.
“But I want to return your favor,” he added, hinting at running for a future election.
The former finance chief joined the Industrial Bank of Japan in 1978 after graduating from the elite University of Tokyo.
He spent five years at the bank, which is now part of Mizuho Financial Group.
His political career began with tragedy. Nakagawa was first elected a lawmaker in the lower house in 1983 by taking over the Hokkaido constituency of his father, Ichiro Nakagawa, following his suicide.
Ichiro Nakagawa killed himself by swallowing pills in a hotel room, a year after losing a bid to be prime minister.
Shoichi Nakagawa rose up the ranks to lead the influential ministry of economy, trade and industry as well as the agriculture ministry.
He triggered controversy with strong criticism of China and calls for Japan to consider developing nuclear weapons.
He was also known for being pro-Taiwan and admiring former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, now visiting Istanbul to attend a meeting of G7 financial chiefs, told reporters: “I think he fulfilled his duty with all his might.”
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
CROSS-STRAIT: The MAC said it barred the Chinese officials from attending an event, because they failed to provide guarantees that Taiwan would be treated with respect The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday night defended its decision to bar Chinese officials and tourism representatives from attending a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing the unsafe conditions for Taiwanese in China. The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organized by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is to run from July 18 to 21. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) on Friday said that representatives from China’s travel industry were excluded from the expo. The Democratic Progressive Party government is obstructing cross-strait tourism exchange in a vain attempt to ignore the mainstream support for peaceful development
ELITE UNIT: President William Lai yesterday praised the National Police Agency’s Special Operations Group after watching it go through assault training and hostage rescue drills The US Navy regularly conducts global war games to develop deterrence strategies against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, aimed at making the nation “a very difficult target to take,” US Acting Chief of Naval Operations James Kilby said on Wednesday. Testifying before the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Kilby said the navy has studied the issue extensively, including routine simulations at the Naval War College. The navy is focused on five key areas: long-range strike capabilities; countering China’s command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting; terminal ship defense; contested logistics; and nontraditional maritime denial tactics, Kilby
RSS