TOKYO (TR) – Almost 20 years after former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa shocked the world with an notorious “drunken” press convention on the 2009 G7 summit in Rome, his widow has sparked a brand new firestorm by claiming he was drugged by a newspaper reporter, stories weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Apr. 17-24).
According to the tabloid, Ikuko Nakagawa, a former member of the House of Representatives, made the explosive allegations on social media earlier than abruptly deleting the submit beneath menace of authorized motion from the Yomiuri Shimbun.
In her Facebook submit, Ikuko claimed that shortly earlier than the disastrous press convention, her husband was invited to lunch by the then-Director of the International Bureau of the Ministry of Finance — a former highschool classmate of Nakagawa’s. Reporters from the Yomiuri Shimbun had been allegedly current on the gathering.
According to the widow’s deleted submit, a Yomiuri reporter handed Nakagawa a substance, telling him: “If the press conference is canceled, you should take this medicine, eat, and take a good rest.” Nakagawa reportedly ingested the drugs and drank a sip of wine. Hours later, he appeared earlier than the worldwide media severely impaired, slurring his phrases and struggling to maintain his eyes open.
“I will be killed by America”
Nakagawa was compelled to resign shortly after and died instantly at his Tokyo house in October 2009.
The Yomiuri Shimbun revealed an unprecedented rebuttal in its morning version on March 31, labeling the claims “groundless”. The publication cited earlier Diet testimonies the place Nakagawa himself admitted to taking an excessive amount of chilly medication, and warned it could contemplate authorized motion to demand the deletion of the “false information”.
However, the weekly’s investigation highlights deeper political machinations and paranoia main as much as the incident. According to the journal, Nakagawa had lived in worry of assassination.
Ikuko disclosed that for a decade main as much as his loss of life, Nakagawa repeatedly advised her, “I will be killed by America.” He additionally mentioned, “Take care of the children.”
“I will be killed by America”
At the time, Nakagawa was reportedly seen as a “person of interest” by the White House. The late finance minister had been aggressively pushing for impartial monetary insurance policies, together with leveraging Japan’s large holdings of U.S. Treasuries to say Japanese sovereignty. The transfer reportedly challenged the U.S. dollar’s dominance and angered worldwide monetary powers.
Political insiders additionally pointed to a tense relationship between Nakagawa and the Ministry of Finance. Bureaucrats reportedly sought to decrease the affect of meddling politicians from the primary Abe administration, and Nakagawa’s resignation conveniently paved the way in which for a finance minister extra compliant with the ministry’s agenda.
While the official narrative pins the 2009 incident on alcohol and chilly medication, the widow’s claims have reignited hypothesis over whether or not Nakagawa’s downfall was a self-inflicted embarrassment or a coordinated political hit.