The Nikkei closed down 1.5% at 35,619.77, after slumping over 2% to brush near Monday’s one-month intraday low of 35,247.87. The broader Topix fell 1.8% to end the session at 2,530.67.
The dollar dropped as much as 1.24% to 140.71 yen, a level not seen since Dec. 28, before trading at 141.16 yen as of 0547 GMT, following the U.S. presidential debate and remarks by Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa.
A stronger yen tends to hurt exporter shares as it decreases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan.
Shares of exporters slid, with the underperformance of automakers standing out. Toyota Motor stumbled 3.1%, while Subaru Corp declined over 4% and Honda Motor slid 3%.
Losses broadened in afternoon trade, with 211 of the Nikkei’s 225 constituents ending in the red as sentiment deteriorated. Two shares were untraded. “There could be a psychological element, a kind of anxiety where selling leads to more selling,” said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.
Investors remain sensitive to big moves after last month’s market, she said, which saw the benchmark Nikkei shed 12.4% in its worst single-day plunge since 1987 Black Monday.
Energy-related shares also saw some of the largest losses after oil prices hit their lowest in three years on Tuesday on demand concerns. Tokyo Gas fell 5.6%, while Osaka Gas lost 5.1% to land among the top percentage losers on the Nikkei.
Analysts saw a limited direct impact on Japanese equities from the debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Among other shares, Nikkei heavyweight Fast Retailing slid 1.7%, while shares of major chip-related Advantest was down 2.3%. Fellow chip-related share Tokyo Electron tumbled 0.2%.
Tech and entertainment conglomerate Sony Group edged down 0.3%.
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