Amid speculation of his having been drunk at a G7 press conference in Rome and the resulting DPJ move for a censure motion, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa announced today that he would resign after the fiscal 2009 budget bills were passed, causing further damage to the already poor image of Prime Minister Aso’s Cabinet.

While Nakagawa had claimed he’d merely consumed too much cold medicine on the flight over, the defense met with little but incredulity and even ridicule from press outlets and other observers around the world.

The announcement follows closely on the heels of Aso’s announcement that he would not fire his close ally, even in the face of a censure motion coming out of the opposition-controlled Upper House.

Azuma Koshiishi, head of the DPJ’s Upper House caucus, said the opposition would seek Nakagawa’s immediate resignation as they could not negotiate with a Minister who has already expressed his intention to resign.

We assume most of our readers can tell the difference between the effects of hooch and NyQuil and will leave it to you to decide.

Nakagawa claimed not only that his unusual behavior and seeming inability to speak clearly or keep his eyes open were the result of cold medicine, but that he had had nothing more to drink than a sip of wine during a toast at the G7.

That a Finance Minister would show up to an important international meeting having consumed a few dozen times the recommended dosage of cold medicine is bad enough, but to offer lame excuses on top of that shows contempt for the people for whom he’s supposed to be working. Previous embarrassing statements and actions by this administration and others have been brushed off with claims of statements having not been intended for international consumption, complaints about the translation, and other transparent fig leaves.

Nakagawa continued to dig by saying his doctor told him he was suffering from “a cold and fatigue,” which may well be true, but is no explanation for the video above, which sure as heck looks like proof of long-circulating rumors that Nakagawa is a man who appreciates his tipple a little too much.

Then again, what would any of us do if we were facing economic contraction and had no brighter ideas before us than passing out 12,000 yen checks?

Nakagawa is set to be succeeded by Kaoru Yosano, who will serve as both Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy. Yosano has held the latter position since Aso’s election as Prime Minister and served as Chief Cabinet Secretary to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, albeit for just barely a month.