TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 0.69 percent Tuesday on nervousness over the international response to alleged chemical weapon use in Syria.
The Nikkei 225 index closed 93.91 points lower at 13,542.37, while the Topix index of all first-section issues fell 0.52 percent, or 5.98 points, to 1,134.02.
"Longer-term investors see a whole host of broader political and macroeconomic factors -- including rising tensions over Syria, US Fed tapering worries, German elections, Greek bailout chatter -- as too powerful to encourage meaningful investment in equities at the moment," said an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage.
"The wait-and-see approach is seen as safest right now," the broker told Dow Jones Newswires.
CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith said: "Military conflicts in the Middle East tend to lift energy prices, but Syria is a bit different in that the nation has little oil and only a marginal economic impact, so the impact on global markets may be limited."
Among major shares, Toyota dropped 0.81 percent to 6,160. Mobile carrier SoftBank fell 0.48 percent to 6,240.
Some major issues rose on bargain-hunting.
Sony ended up 2.83 percent to 2,037 yen and Ricoh gained 1.96 percent to 1,195 yen.
Tokyo Electric Power closed up 12.26 percent to 531 yen after the government pledged to deal with contaminated water leaks at its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
ANA Holdings shed earlier gains and ended down 0.48 percent to 208 yen after media reports that the Japanese airline would acquire a 49 percent stake in a Myanmar airline, the latest foray by Japan Inc. into a potentially lucrative market.
The company confirmed the deal after the market closed. (AFP)
