Shoichi Nakagawa

Shoichi Nakagawa was a Japanese politician, born 19 July 1953, the son of agriculture minister Ichiro Nakagawa, who served as Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries twice, from 1998 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2006. A graduate of the University of Tokyo's law faculty who joined the Industrial Bank of Japan in 1978, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1983 and represented Hokkaido constituencies until 2009. Beyond agriculture he served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2003 to 2005 and as Minister of Finance from September 2008 to February 2009 under Prime Minister Taro Aso, gaining international attention for proposing an emergency IMF assistance program and, in February 2009, arranging a 100 billion dollar commitment to support struggling world economies. His finance ministership ended after he appeared impaired at a February 2009 G7 meeting in Rome, an episode he attributed to cold medication; he lost his parliamentary seat later that year and died at his Tokyo residence on 3 October 2009 under unclear circumstances.