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Japan finance minister to quit in blow to PM Aso
Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:21am EST
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By Yuzo Saeki
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Tuesday he would resign after being forced to deny he was drunk at a G7 news conference, dealing a fresh blow to unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso in an election year.
But Nakagawa's offer to step down after parliament passed budget bills -- a process that could take weeks -- failed to satisfy an emboldened opposition, which demanded he quit immediately.
Analysts said the political stalemate would drag on and raise questions over what was being down to lift Japan out of its worst economic slump since the 1974 global oil crisis.
The fuss over Nakagawa's behavior at the G7 news conference comes as Aso's public support is plummeting -- below 10 percent in one recent survey -- ahead of an election that must be held no later than October.
"It's extremely damaging politically for Aso. Nakagawa is saying he will quit after the budget and related bills pass parliament but, I'm not sure whether the cabinet itself would last that long. Aso might be forced to quit before that," said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute.
"With Nakagawa quitting, the government lacks a person in charge to come up with further steps to support an economy that is worsening sharply."
Opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) executive Kenji Yamaoka told reporters Nakagawa should quit now and if not, it was only natural for the party to submit a censure motion to parliament's upper house, which the opposition controls.
Such motions are non-binding but have forced a minister to resign in the past.
There are no obvious candidates to replace Nakagawa, with the exception of Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano.
Nakagawa said he would resign after budget legislation was passed by parliament's lower house, although the exact timing of his departure was unclear.
"I have caused trouble to the people," Nakagawa told a news conference where he announced his resignation. "I apologize for causing commotion from my careless health management."
At the Group of Seven news conference in Rome, Nakagawa slurred his words and appeared to fall asleep at one point.
He says he had not done more than sip some wine before the news conference and cold medicine had affected his behavior.
CREDIBILITY ISSUE
Aso is trying to pass an extra budget for the fiscal year ending on March 31 as well as a record 88.5 trillion yen ($965 billion) budget for the year to March 2010 to help stimulate the economy, now sinking deeper into recession. Continued...
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