Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa has strongly denied that he was drunk at a Group of Seven news conference in Italy.
Nakagawa told reporters on Monday that he had taken medicine on his flight to Rome for a meeting of the finance leaders.
"I did not drink a glassful," he said, adding that "I had a cold. Honestly, the cold medicine kicked in too much".
He hinted that the medication might have affected him badly.
Nakagaw, a close ally of Japan's premier Taro Aso, also apologized for his poor performance at the news conference late Saturday in Rome.
"It is true that I didn't conduct myself properly, and I feel I must set the record straight," the 55-year-old Nakagawa told reporters in Tokyo.
Videos of the conference showed that Nakagawa at one point mistakenly answered a reporter's question about interest rates meant for Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa, who was also present at the news conference.
"Hmm? What? Can you say that again?" Nakagawa asked a reporter.
He also tried to grab a glass placed in front of Shirakawa instead of the one right before him.
Despite his denials, several Japanese media reports agreed he had the glassy eyes and sweaty complexion of a man who had enjoyed a few glasses of Chianti, courtesy of his Italian hosts.
Premier Aso has also come under pressure to sack Nakagawa after the incident.
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