Japanese stocks fell sharply Wednesday as US tariffs officially took effect, triggering broad market losses. The Nikkei 225 dropped 3.93% to 31,714, while the Topix Index declined 3.4% to 2,349, reversing gains from the previous session and mirroring overnight losses on Wall Street.
The new measures include a 24% tariff on Japanese goods and a 25% levy on auto exports to the US. President Trump confirmed Japan will send a delegation to negotiate, while Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he urged Trump to reconsider the tariffs in a recent call.
Financial and tech stocks led the selloff, with steep declines from Mitsubishi UFJ (-5.3%), Sumitomo Mitsui (-4.9%), and Disco Corp (-8.2%). Auto and consumer names also weakened, including Toyota (-2.6%) and Sony (-3.5%).
Source: Trading Economics
