Japan bank shares hammered as tariffs ignite fears about global growth
The Tokyo index of banking stocks (.IBNKS.T), opens new tab was down 10% at 0537 GMT. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), opens new tab, Japan's biggest bank by assets, fell 10%.
The hit to banking stocks in Tokyo, some of the world's largest lenders by assets, was a grim reminder of the global impact of Trump's protectionist policies and the shakiness of Japan's own exit from deflation.
After years of stop-start growth and frozen wages, Japan last year finally appeared to break through its long malaise, as prices - and wages - began to rise. In a hugely symbolic move, the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost two decades.
Whether that growth path can continue, analysts have said, depends to a large extent on what happens next in the United States. The world's largest economy is the main market for Japanese automakers, the country's economic engine, as well as other industries.
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