TOKYO: Japanese shares closed lower on Tuesday as a stronger yen pressured exporters and investors booked profits after a three-day rally in the run up to the ruling party election, where Abe ally Yoshihide Suga was picked as the new leader. The benchmark Nikkei share average ended down 0.44% at 23,454.89, having hit a fresh seven-month high in the previous session. There were 45 advancers on the index against 175 decliners.
The profit-taking came after Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a long-time loyal aide of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was elected head of Japan's ruling party on Monday, all but confirming he would replace Abe as prime minister on Wednesday. The broader Topix lost 0.62% to 1,640.84, with highly cyclical iron and steel, airlines and mining being the three worst-performing sectors on the main bourse.
Export-oriented firms slipped as the yen remained strong against the dollar, last traded at 105.66 per dollar, staying close to a two-week high of 105.55 yen scaled the previous day. Canon Inc slipped 2.73%, while Panasonic Corp fell 1.15%.
Oriental Land edged down 0.71% after local media reports said the Japanese operator of the Tokyo Disney Resort would slash winter bonuses by 70%. Sony Corp skidded 2.41% after media reported the company would reduce its PS5 production due to chip procurement problems for the financial year. SoftBank Group ended 0.34% higher, erasing losses from early in the session.
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