TOKYO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday as a stronger yen hit major exporters in Japan and losses in other Asian stocks dampened investors' sentiment.

    The benchmark Nikkei 225 Average slid 81.09 points, or 0.78 percent, to 10,312.14.

    The broader Topix index dipped 6.56 points, or 0.69 percent, to 939.84.

    Consumer finance, banking and securities shares were the major decliners while mining, sea transport and land transport issues were among the gainers.

    "There's been a lot of concern about the yen's strength this week, and also today we're seeing selling of bank stocks -- apparently by overseas investors -- after the downgrade," Hiroaki Kuramochi, head of the equity division at Tokai Tokyo Securities, were quoted as saying.

    "This selling of financial shares is at least one impediment to the Nikkei breaking above 10,500."

    The dollar tumbled against the yen overnight but had recovered some losses by Wednesday afternoon in Tokyo.

    Among the financial shares, value and volume leader Mizuho Financial Group shed 4 yen, or almost 2 percent, to 200 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 3 percent to 527 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 2.7 percent to 3,610 yen.

    Among exporters, Canon fell 2.8 percent to 3,490 yen and Honda Motor Co slipped 2.4 percent to 2,855 yen. Toyota Motor Corp lost 1.8 percent to 3,800 yen.

    On the First Section, declining shares beat advancing ones 1,011 to 526.

    Trading volume on the main section expanded to 2,012.67 million shares from 1,863.13 million Tuesday.

    The TSE's Second Section index dropped 1.68 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,293.35 on a volume of 30.87 million shares.

    On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term September Nikkei 225 index futures contract slipped 70 points to 10,340.

    Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis