The Tokyo equities markets were lower on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 down by 0.9 percent to 15,969.04 and the Topix index 1.1 percent lower to 1,624.21. Domestic sectors were down on profit-taking, while export-focused sectors suffered from investor concerns about the US economy.
In the automobile manufacturing sector, Toyota Motor and Mitsubishi Motors both dropped 1.9 percent, to ¥6,370 and ¥208 respectively, while Honda was down by 2 percent to ¥3,880.
Electronics manufacturers also saw declined, with Matsushita Electric Industrial 1 percent lower to ¥2,460. Sony was down a further 1.3 percent to ¥5,240, still troubled by the Dell recall of laptops due to a defect in Sony-manufactured batteries. Toshiba dropped 1.5 percent to ¥782 and Hitachi declined by 1.6 percent to ¥736.
On the domestic front, both banks and the real estate sector were lower on the session, as were retailers. Seven & I, which operates convenience and department stores as well as restaurants, was 1.4 percent lower, while Isetan dropped 1.2 percent.
In the real estate sector, Mitsubishi Estate fell 1.6 percent to ¥2,490, while Mitsui Fudosan dropped 2 percent to ¥2,520. The declines were blamed on profit-taking after new data showed that land prices all over Japan have risen for the first time in years.
Banks also saw declines due to profit-taking. Mizuho was 1.1 percent lower to ¥965,000, while Mitsubishi UFJ dropped 1.2 percent to close at ¥1,630,000 and SMFG fell 1.5 percent to ¥1,280,000.