Japanese finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa said today 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 Mr Nakagawa's offer to quit after parliament passed budget bills - a process that could take weeks - failed to satisfy the government's junior coalition partner and an emboldened opposition, which both demanded he quit immediately.
Mr Aso was leaning towards appointing economics minister Kaoru Yosano to succeed Mr Nakagawa, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.
But analysts said the political stalemate would drag on and raise questions over what was being done to lift Japan out of its worst economic slump since the 1974 global oil crisis.
The fuss over Mr Nakagawa's behaviour at a Group of Seven news conference in Rome comes as Mr Aso's public support is plummeting - below 10 per cent in one recent survey - ahead of an election that must be held no later than October. At the G7 news conference, Mr Nakagawa slurred his words and appeared to fall asleep at one point.
"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."
Kyodo said Mr Yosano (70) would keep his current post and also take over Mr Nakagawa's other portfolio in charge of banking supervision.
Mr Yosano came second after Mr Aso in a leadership race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in September, and has since been a linchpin of the administration.
The government's junior partner, the New Komeito Party, wanted Mr Nakagawa to resign immediately, Japanese broadcaster NHK said. The support of New Komeito is vital for the coalition to keep its two-thirds majority in parliament's lower house.
Opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) executive Kenji Yamaoka said Mr Nakagawa should quit now. Opposition parties later submitted a censure motion against Mr Nakagawa to the upper house, which the opposition controls. Such motions are non-binding.
Mr Nakagawa said he would resign after budget legislation was passed by the lower house, although the exact timing of his departure was unclear. "I have caused trouble to the people," he told a news conference where he announced his resignation. "I apologise for causing commotion from my careless health management."
Reuters