Japanese minister denies being drunk at G7

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.

G7 warns economic downturn will persist

The G7 industrial countries have ended a summit in Rome with pledges to avoid protectionism as they tackle a persisting economic downturn. "We reaffirm our commitment to act together using the full range of policy tools to support growth and employment and strengthen the financial sector," the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers said in a statement on Saturday. "The stabilization of the global economy and financial markets remains our highest priority." Analysts say the meeting was scheduled to discuss the broad issues of the economic crisis and failed to go beyond generic statements of principle and commitments that have been heard before. The G7 said it remained 'committed to avoiding protectionist measures, which risks exacerbating the downturn'. The statement came a few hours after the US Congress approved a $787 billion economic recovery plan that includes a 'Buy American' clause, which has raised fears that protectionism could be growing in the world's largest economy. However, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner dismissed such concerns. US President Barack Obama had ensured that implementing the new stimulus package would be done in a way that respected America's international obligations, said Geithner, without going into specifics on how that all squared. The G-7 is composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.