Shoichi Nakagawa, Japan’s finance minister, is resigning after coming under fire for appearing to be drunk at a G7 press conference in Rome 15 February. He denies it, saying he had drinks on his flight to Rome and at a lunch, but that he took too much medicine. The opposition party questioned his credibility, however. CNN Meanwhile, Japan’s economy, the world’s second largest, has slumped to a 35 year low, with “collapsing demand for exports and weak domestic consumption. . . to blame,” reports the Financial Times.

The Chinese government is pumping another Rmb130 billion ($19 b) into the economy, more than doubling an earlier injection of Rmb100 b, the government-owed Xinhuanet reported Tuesday, citing as its source an anonymous official at the National Development and Reform Commission. The report confirms figures mentioned in a Financial Times interview 1 February with Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to London. Details about how the money will be spent are still sketchy, but it will go to mainly to building China’s infrastructure – roads and housing are high on the list, says Xinhua.