Tokyo stocks close lower on US-N.Korea woes

Tokyo stocks closed ended lower on Tuesday as exporters were hit by a rush into the safe-haven yen with tensions between the United States and North Korea flaring up again.

The bellwether Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.33 percent, or 67.39 points, to 20,330.19, while the broader Topix index ended the session flat, inching down 0.08 points to 1,672.74.

"While North Korea news is something investors have become somewhat used to, they will be inclined to take profits," Mitsugu Yokoyama, head of investment research at Ando Securities, told Bloomberg News.

Traders pushed into the yen as North Korea accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war against it and said it reserved the right to shoot down US bombers even if they are in international airspace.

The dollar fetched 111.52 yen, down from 111.70 yen in New York and well off the levels around 112.50 yen in Tokyo on Monday.

Nintendo fell 1.89 percent to 40,420 yen, Panasonic was down 0.74 percent at 1,599 yen and Sony dropped 2.03 percent to 4,099 yen.

Camera maker Olympus fell 1.03 percent to 3,810 yen while Tokyo Electron dropped 2.68 percent to 16,825 yen.