Nikkei: Strong yen casts broad shadow over Japan Inc.

A stronger yen appears to have created problems for the Japanese companies, pushing corporate earnings downhill, Nikkei reported earlier on the day.

Key Headlines:

A stronger yen was the main culprit behind the manufacturing sector's 21% pretax profit drop

The malaise hit even areas that fared well in fiscal 2015, such as the chemical industry, where profits slid more than 20%

Non-manufacturers fared only slightly better, with pretax profit down 11%

Trading houses continued to struggle

Profits at publicly traded Japanese companies are expected to decline for the first time in five years this fiscal year as an unexpectedly strong yen erodes manufacturers' margins even as sales volumes improve

A number of exporters downgraded guidance to reflect the yen strengthening

Retail and service industries suffered from sluggish domestic consumer spending

Earnings worsened in 25 out of 32 nonfinancial industries -- the broadest decline since the April-June quarter of 2009, when Japan was battered by the global financial crisis