Stock prices took a beating in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day before the government's announcement of an economic stimulus package worth roughly 11 trillion yen, with the benchmark Nikkei average plunging more than 3 percent to close below 15,000 for the first time in 19 months.

Observers blamed the lackluster performance on Wall Street's dip the previous day, as well as on concerns over the continued disarray on the domestic political front; House of Councilors President Juro Saito announced his resignation Wednesday after failing to mediate a proposal to rectify Diet proceedings.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei shed 467.74 points to end at 14,872.48. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) of all First Section issues rewrote this year's closing low for a second straight day, losing 30.9 points, or 2.15 percent, to 1,407.26.