Tokyo stocks drop in morning amid concerns for Abe's scandal-hit gov't

TOKYO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks dropped Monday morning as investor sentiment was dented by polls showing a slump in approval ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet amid state-linked cronyism and document-tampering scandals.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 193.29 points, or 0.89 percent, from Friday to 21,483.22.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, fell 14.81 points, or 0.85 percent, to 1,721.82.

Precision instrument, electric appliance and wholesale-oriented issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break.