Japanese shares dip; Nissan hits 8-yr low as top exec decides to quit

* Nikkei loses steam but still stand near 14-month peak
* Nissan hits 8-year low after top exec leaves for Nidec
* No reaction to Tokyo Stock Exchange re-organisation plan

By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
dipped in holiday-thinned trade on Wednesday, while Nissan hit
an eight-year low after a top executive tasked with leading a
recovery at the troubled automaker abruptly resigned just weeks
into his new job.
The Nikkei share average .N225 ticked down 0.20% to
23,782.87 while the broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.39% to
1,721.42, with 34 shares declining for every 10 gainers.
While the Nikkei was not far from a 14-month high of 24,091
hit last week, its rally on the back of optimism on the global
economic outlook and U.S.-China trade negotiations has petered
out with many players away for holidays.
The dearth of big macroeconomic events prompted traders to
focus on shares that had some news.
Nissan Motor 7201.T fell 3.1% to a low last seen in
September 2011 after Jun Seki, its vice chief operating officer
and a former contender for CEO, said he was leaving the firm to
become the president of Nidec Corp 6594.T . His decision is seen as a potential blow to the automaker's
push to turn the corner on a scandal involving ousted former
Chairman Carlos Ghosn and slumping sales.
Nidec shares gained 0.3%.
Shimamura 8227.T tumbled 7.6% after the clothing retailer
cut its profit estimates for the year to February by about 25%,
citing weak sales.
Sugi Holdings 7649.T lost 6.5% after the drugstore chain
operator's quarterly earnings fell short of strong market
expectations.
Japan Post Insurance 7181.T dropped 1.1% and its parent
Japan Post Holdings 6178.T ticked down 0.7% amid media report
that the CEO of Japan Post Holdings and two top executives at
Japan Post Insurance will resign this week over the improper
sales of insurance policies. Japan Post Insurance has been marred by the scandal for
months and its shares have lost almost 30% of their value so far
this year, compared to 19% gains in the Nikkei.
The market has shown limited response so far on a proposed
overhaul of the Tokyo Stock Exchange that could set a fairly low
minimum market capitalisation requirement for the bourse's
planned "prime market". The proposal suggests a few hundred small cap shares could
be excluded from the Topix index .TOPX , market players said.
"The shares that are likely to be excluded are illiquid in
the first place so few investors are trying to sell them now,"
said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief executive of Investrust.