Nakagawa has said he did not drink alcohol before the meeting. Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters that Nakagawa was in a drunken state because of cold medicine, not liquor:
~
“Finance Minister Nakagawa’s appearance at the press conference was not caused by alcohol,” Kawamura told reporters in Tokyo. “I asked him to take better care of himself.”
~
~http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=8832