TOKYO: Tokyo’s key stock index closed higher Tuesday but trimmed earlier gains as traders eyed a major government corruption scandal.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.16 percent, or 51.90 points, to end at 32,843.70, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.23 percent, or 5.39 points, to 2,353.16.

Local media reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to fire several top ministers who are under investigation for allegedly failing to report income from political fundraising parties. Poll ratings for Kishida’s government are at their lowest levels since he took office two years ago.

And the scandal widened on Tuesday with a faction within the ruling party headed until recently by Kishida reportedly now also implicated. Investors were also looking ahead to a key US inflation report later in the day and the Federal Reserve’s last monetary policy decision of 2023, which is due Wednesday.

The dollar stood at 145.31 yen, against 146.09 yen seen in New York.