Tokyo - Japanese stocks declined Monday as export-oriented issues were dragged down by a stronger yen and as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the start of Japan's corporate earnings reports season.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 34.87 points, or 0.36 per cent, to close at 9,556.65 while the broader Topix index was down 4.95 points, or 0.59 per cent, at 836.34.
Investor sentiment was also hurt as uncertainty prevailed over the country's nuclear crisis despite the plant operator's plan to resolve it.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co said Sunday that the company hopes to restore stable cooling to its crippled reactors in three months and be able to get the entire six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station under control within nine months.
The plant was damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and has been leaking radiation ever since. A continuing sense of uncertainty remained over whether all would go as planned, traders said.
The yen rose against major currencies, hovering in the high 82-yen level to the dollar.
A stronger yen makes Japanese goods more expensive overseas and erodes repatriated earnings.
On currency markets at 3 pm (0600 GMT), the dollar traded at 82.90-92 yen, down from Friday's 5 pm quote of 83.02-04 yen.
The euro traded at 1.4372-4374 dollars, down from 1.4466-4468 dollars Friday, and at 119.15-19 yen, down from 120.10-14 yen.
