Summary The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was down 0.72 percent.
TOKYO (AFP) - Tokyo shares fell Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting, with Mitsubishi Motors hammered for a fifth day in response to a report that it used an improper fuel-testing method for decades.
Japan’s leading Nikkei business newspaper also said Mitsubishi had been supplying false results on more models than previously reported, widening the possible scope of a data-cheating scandal that has plunged the automaker into crisis.
The Tokyo-listed shares dropped 9.58 percent to close at 434 yen and are now down by about half since the crisis came to light last week.
Investors were turning their focus to a Federal Reserve policy meeting Wednesday as Japan’s latest earnings season gets under way.
Despite an oil price rally Tuesday, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.49 percent, or 86.02 points, to close at 17,353.28.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares was down 0.72 percent, or 10.14 points, at 1,391.69.
The Bank of Japan also starts a two-day policy meeting Wednesday and is tipped to unleash more stimulus after this month’s deadly earthquakes led to temporary factory closures at a time when the economy is already struggling.
"Japanese stocks are at a level where investors can take profit," Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"It’s easier for investors to lighten their positions so damage will be limited in case something unexpected happens in US and Japanese monetary policy."
Shortly before the BoJ’s meeting wraps up, Japan will publish a string of economic data, including inflation and unemployment figures.
Sony and Nintendo are among a slate of big-name firms set to report results for the fiscal year through March.
Toshiba fell 1.66 percent to 241.9 yen after the troubled conglomerate widened its operating loss and sales forecast, even as it revised down its full-year net loss forecast.
Toshiba, which is trying to emerge from an damaging accounting scandal, said the lower-than-expected net loss was linked to the sale of its medical devices business reducing the impact of a write-down related to its nuclear unit.
In currency trading, the dollar dipped to 110.98 yen on Tuesday from 111.21 yen late Monday in New York.
