Incoherent, floundering, sleepy and confused. The demeanour of Japan's finance minister, Shoichi Nakagawa, at a G7 press conference in Rome on February 14th typified the country's economy and politics. Mr Nakagawa, forced to resign a few days later, blamed his apparent drunkenness on "cold medicine". But there is no ready remedy for what ails Japan.rnThe Japanese economy contracted 3.3% in the final quarter of 2008, the third consecutive fall, mostly due to a collapse in overseas demand compounded by a strong yen. Economists forecast a drop of around 4% in 2009-a contraction twice as severe as in America and Europe.rn"We are facing the biggest economic crisis since the second world war," said Kaoru Yosano, the economics minister, who added the finance ministry to his business card after Mr Nakagawa's departure. Corporate profits have collapsed-down 89% on last year. Big manufacturers' output is down by 20-40%. Toyota has halved its output. Bellwether companies from nec to Nissan have slashed jobs and investment. Industrial output is expected to fall to levels not seen since the 1980s (see chart).
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