Tokyo  - Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa announced on Tuesday he will resign to take responsibility for his misbehaviour in public last week.

Nakagawa was reportedly slurring at a press conference in Rome on Saturday, where he was also seen to close his eyes, after the Group of Seven financial leaders' meeting in Rome.

The finance minister said he was affected by cold medication and jet lag, but speculation spread that he was drunk. (dpa)