By Brigid Riley
TOKYO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average fell for a seventh straight session on Wednesday, as a stronger yen dragged down exporters including automakers and as energy stocks tumbled after oil prices slid to three-year lows.
The Nikkei .N225 was down 0.8% to 35,867.33 by the midday break. The broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.9% to 2,552.8.
The yen continued its march higher to hit an eight-month peak against the dollar. A stronger yen tends to hurt exporter shares as it decreases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms repatriate them to Japan. FRX/
Shares of exporters slid, with the underperformance of automakers standing out. Toyota Motor 7203.T stumbled 1.9%, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp 7211.T declined 3.9% and was among the top percentage losers on the Nikkei.
Energy-related shares also saw some of the largest losses after oil prices hit their lowest in three years on Tuesday on demand concerns. Tokyo Gas 9531.T fell 6%, while Osaka Gas 9532.T lost 4.5%.
Analysts saw limited impact from the U.S. presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that took place during Asian trading hours.
But a U.S. consumer price index report generated some caution ahead of its release later on Wednesday, said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.
"Focus on price-related economic indicators has somewhat decreased compared to before, but still, tonight's CPI is an important indicator."
Among individual stocks, Mitsui & Co 8031.T briefly rose more than 4% after the general trading company announced an increase in the amount of buybacks planned and extended the buyback period.
Nikkei heavyweights Fast Retailing 9983.T and Advantest 6857.T slid 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively, while Tokyo Electron 8035.T and SoftBank Group 9984.T were both up about 1%.
(Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)