Shōichi Nakagawa

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Shōichi Nakagawa
Minister of Finance of Japan
In office September 24, 2008 – February 17, 2009
Preceded by	Bunmei Ibuki
Succeeded by	Kaoru Yosano
Born	19 July 1953(1953-07-19) Tokyo, Japan
Died	4 October 2009 (aged 56) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Tokyo

Shōichi Nakagawa (中川昭一, Nakagawa Shōichi^?, July 19, 1953 – October 4, 2009) was a Japanese conservative politician in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as Minister of Finance from September 24, 2008 to February 17, 2009. He previously held the posts of Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi. He was regarded as one of Japan's most attractive public figures.^[1] On October 4, 2009, he was found dead in his Tokyo apartment. The cause of his death is yet to be determined; although no suicide note was found, there was also no indication of foul play.^[2]

Contents 1 Political career 2 Alcohol controversy 3 Death 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Political career

Nakagawa was born in Tokyo, Japan and attended Azabu High School, graduated from the law faculty of the University of Tokyo in 1978 and entered the Industrial Bank of Japan. His father, Ichiro Nakagawa, was a prominent Hokkaidō politician who committed suicide in 1983. The younger Nakagawa was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in the same year.

In 1998, Nakagawa became Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries under Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, and in 2003, he became Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He served as Agriculture Minister from October 2005 to September 2006, when incoming prime minister Shinzo Abe appointed Nakagawa as chairman of the Policy Research Council of the LDP.

In December 2006, Kyodo News Agency quoted Nakagawa as having said the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were "truly unforgivable on humanitarian grounds" and reported the politician's concerns over the possession of nuclear weapons by North Korea.^[3]

Nakagawa's views were close to those of Abe. In particular, both support nationalism in history education, a hard-line stance regarding North Korea and constitutional amendments. Abe has made efforts to relink ties with neighbouring China, while Nakagawa officially voiced his concern over the country's growing military expenditure, claiming that, were the situation in Taiwan to deteriorate, Japan would become, by 2020, a Chinese colony.^[4] Despite that most of the mainstream conservative LDP politicians are usually known for their persistent pro-Americanism, Nakagawa was especially known for his pro-Taiwanism, as he was known as one of the most pro-Taiwanese politicians in Japan.^[5]

On January 6, 2007, in an interview with a reporter from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Nakagawa stated "Women have their proper place: they should be womanly ... They have their own abilities and these should be fully exercised, for example in flower arranging, sewing, or cooking. It's not a matter of good or bad, but we need to accept reality that men and women are genetically different".^[6]

In the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008, Nakagawa was appointed as Minister of Finance and Minister of State in charge of Financial Services.^[7] He was defeated in his constituency in the Japanese general election, 2009.

[edit] Alcohol controversy

Nakagawa had been known for his extremely heavy drinking since a young age. A METI bureaucrat, who was a fellow of Nakagawa's, witnessed Nakagawa drunk frequently, especially before hosting big political conferences. ^[8]

During the G7 meeting of finance ministers in Rome on February 14, 2009, where he signed an agreement to lend an extra $100 billion to the IMF that was described as the "largest loan ever made in the history of humanity"^[9], Nakagawa was seen to be slurring his words.^[10] Nakagawa claimed that his drowsiness and slurred speech were the result of taking too much cold medicine before the meeting. Despite calls for his resignation by opposition parties at the time, Nakagawa did not immediately resign; Prime Minister Taro Aso supported him and called for him to continue his duties as Finance Minister.^[11] However, on February 17 Nakagawa announced that he had chosen to resign, and his resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Aso that evening.^[12]

[edit] Death

Shōichi Nakagawa died on October 4, 2009, aged 56 at his apartment in Tokyo. Japanese media reports said his body was found face down on the bed by his wife, with no external injuries.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]} She alerted ambulance services at approximately 8:30 am.^[20] His death had taken place at least eight hours previously.^[14][21][22] An investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.^[23][24] An autopsy is being planned to determine the cause of death. A will has not been located.^[19][21] Taro Aso, the former Japanese Prime Minister, was rendered speechless by the news: "I am so deeply shocked that I have no words".^[1][25] Hirohisa Fujii, his successor as Finance Minister, also commented: "I want to express my heartfelt condolences. He was doing a fine job as a finance minister, so it is regrettable".^[26] The Sydney Morning Herald said his death had "sent a shock wave throughout the nation".^[22]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Shoichi Nakagawa's Profile

Political offices
Preceded by Bunmei Ibuki	Minister of Finance of Japan 2008–2009	Succeeded by Kaoru Yosano
Preceded by Toshimitsu Motegi	Minister of State for Financial Services of Japan 2008–2009	Succeeded by Kaoru Yosano
Preceded by Mineichi Iwanaga	Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan 2005–2006	Succeeded by Toshikatsu Matsuoka
Preceded by Takeo Hiranuma	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan 2003–2005	Succeeded by Toshihiro Nikai
Preceded by Yoshinobu Shimamura	Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan 1998–1999	Succeeded by Tokuichiro Tamazawa

Persondata
NAME	Nakagawa, Shōichi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Minister of Finance of Japan
DATE OF BIRTH	1953-07-19
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tokyo, Japan
DATE OF DEATH	2009-10-04
PLACE OF DEATH	Tokyo, Japan