TOKYO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo shares closed lower Tuesday with the Nikkei index plunged to its lowest level in five weeks ahead of British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech on the United Kingdom's plans to exit the European Union due later in the day.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 281.71 points, or 1.48 percent, from Monday at 18,813.53.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 21.54 points, or 1.41 percent, lower at 1,509.10.
Decliners were led by fishery, agriculture and forestry, real estate and construction issues.
The day's turnover was about 2,094.2 billion yen (around 18.4 billion U.S. dollars).
