TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A stronger Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar that briefly hit the lower 121 yen level on Wednesday triggered a decline in Tokyo stocks on expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Japanese government may move to stem the yen from plummeting further.
The U.S. dollar started to fall from the lower 123 yen range early in the morning as market players scooped up the Japanese currency and finished the day near the 122 yen line.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed down 225.17 points, or 0.80 percent, from Tuesday at 28,027.25.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended 24.06 points, or 1.21 percent, lower at 1,967.60.
Tokyo stocks kept a losing trend in the afternoon as the Japanese yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, hitting automakers and some other export-oriented shares that had advanced recently due to a weaker yen.
Toyota Motor declined 1.9 percent, while Honda Motor shed 1.5 percent.
Market participants also sold shares of companies whose business year ends this month after securing rights for dividend payments. The deadline to become eligible for payments was Tuesday.
Shares with high dividend yields were sold, with shipping company Nippon Yusen plummeting 8.6 percent.
On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones 1,399 to 715, while 55 finished the day unchanged.
Decliners were led by marine transportation, iron and steel, and oil and coal product issues.
Trading volume on the main section increased to 1,404.42 million shares from Tuesday's 1,362.36 million.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with central bank governor Haruhiko Kuroda in the afternoon.
"Market participants thought that Kishida may have called on Kuroda to take measures to stop the yen from falling further, especially as Kishida met with business leaders yesterday," said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign exchange department at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in Tokyo.
Kuroda said after his meeting with Kishida that the bank's daily operations do not have a large, direct impact on currency moves.
"I told the prime minister that it is desirable for foreign exchange rates to move in a stable manner and reflect economic fundamentals," he said.
The dollar declined to around the 122 yen line later in the afternoon after Kuroda reportedly said that he did not receive special instructions from Kishida.
The Japanese currency has recently been declining sharply against the U.S. dollar due to prospects of diverging policy paths for the BOJ and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The dollar briefly rose above the 125 yen line on Monday for the first time since August 2015 after the BOJ announced a rare move to buy unlimited amounts of long-term Japanese government bonds at a fixed rate. ■