Ex-Finance Minister Nakagawa found dead at Tokyo home

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TOKYO, Oct. 4 Kyodo -
Former Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, whose political career went downhill
after a February press conference in Rome at which he appeared to be drunk, was
found dead at his home in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Sunday morning, police said.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the possibility of suicide was low and
ruled out foul play as no note has been discovered at the residence, Nakagawa
had no apparent external wounds, and there were no signs of trouble in his
room.
Nakagawa, 56, had been taking prescribed sleep-inducing medication, and the
police said they will investigate the causal relationship between the drug and
his death.
The time of his death is estimated at around 11 p.m. Saturday, while emergency
personnel confirmed his death at 8:27 a.m. Sunday, they said.
An administrative autopsy indicated the possibility Nakagawa died of a
circulatory disease he had, investigative sources said, adding that traces of
alcohol were found in his body.
Dressed in a polo shirt and shorts, Nakagawa was found lying face down on a bed
on the second floor. His 50-year-old wife found him limp after going to check
on him at around 8:15 a.m. as he did not emerge from the room, and called for
an ambulance about five minutes later, they said.
There were traces of vomit on the bed, and packs of what appeared to be
sleeping tablets on the table and in its drawer in the room, the police said.
The cause of his death was not determined in the police's initial examination
of the body, but no judicial autopsy was performed as is done in criminal
cases.
Coroners did not observe any evidence of a suicide and decided to do an autopsy
as the cause of death was not apparent, according to a senior Liberal
Democratic Party lawmaker. A pathological examination will also be conducted on
his blood and tissue, the police said.
When Nakagawa's wife came home at around 9 p.m. Saturday, she saw him sleeping
with his upper body leaning against the bed, his face down, but did not sense
anything was wrong, the police said. Their 25-year-old daughter and 17-year-old
son were not at home when he was found dead.
Hailing from Hokkaido, the University of Tokyo graduate once regarded as a
future prime ministerial candidate held prominent posts in the Cabinet and the
LDP, including agriculture minister, trade minister and party policy chief.
Nakagawa, who served eight lower house terms after first winning a seat in
December 1983, was appointed finance minister and financial services minister
in September last year under the administration of then Prime Minister Taro
Aso.
But he stepped down from the Cabinet posts in mid-February after his widely
ridiculed performance at the press conference after a Group of Seven financial
leaders meeting in the Italian capital.
Then in late August, Nakagawa was among some high-profile LDP members who lost
in the House of Representatives election in which the Democratic Party of Japan
clinched a landslide victory over the long-ruling LDP to oust it from power.
Senior LDP lawmakers expressed disappointment over Nakagawa's death, with Aso,
who had been on close terms with him, saying, ''I am so deeply shocked that I
have no words.''
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura surmised that Nakagawa may have
been both physically and mentally exhausted due to the shock of losing in the
election, adding, ''Mr. Nakagawa had good policymaking abilities, and he would
have played an important part in Japan's future political scene.''
From the current DPJ-led administration, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
expressed his condolences in a statement saying that he was ''very surprised''
to hear the news and ''feels regretful'' as a fellow politician also
representing a Hokkaido constituency.
Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters, ''I remember
playing parts in a historical play together with Mr. Nakagawa and top
executives of private companies. It is very disappointing.''
People in Nakagawa's home constituency in Hokkaido also expressed shock and
surprise over the unexpected news.
''He was a lower house member who carried the future of Hokkaido on his
shoulders,'' said Hidenobu Takeuchi of the LDP chapter in Japan's northernmost
prefecture.
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa
also expressed their condolences from Istanbul, where they attended talks
involving G-7 financial chiefs. Shirakawa was present at the Rome press
conference where Nakagawa appeared intoxicated.
After graduating from university, Nakagawa joined the now-defunct Industrial
Bank of Japan, which has integrated management with two other banks to form the
Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and entered politics after his father, Ichiro
Nakagawa, a former farm minister, died in January 1983 at a hotel in Sapporo.
Nakagawa's defeat in the Aug. 30 general election marked the collapse of what
had been dubbed the ''Nakagawa kingdom'' -- a strong electoral power base built
by his father.
A woman living in Nakagawa's neighborhood said although she used to see him
doing some gardening before, his garden had not been kept recently. Another
female neighbor said he looked gloomy when she exchanged greetings with him
several days earlier.
==Kyodo