So the Japanese finance minister who allegedly showed up to a press conference hammered outta his skull has resigned:
Japan's finance minister abruptly resigned Tuesday over allegations he made a drunken appearance at a G-7 news conference, shaking Prime Minister Taro Aso's already deeply unpopular government.The dude does appear to be snot-slinging drunk. What does he know about the state of the world economy that we're about to find out?
The resignation was a huge embarrassment for Aso — who has been in office only since late September — and a blow to Japan's efforts to deal with an economy that shrank at its fastest rate in 35 years in the fourth quarter and shows no signs of reversing course anytime soon.
Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, who has denied being drunk, offered his resignation late Tuesday after earlier in the day saying he would stay on until after parliament approves the budget for the fiscal year, probably in late April.
[Cross-posted at Rumproast]
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