TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares of Japanese banks plunged on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs sparked fears of a downturn in global growth that could choke off a fragile recovery and delay rate increases in the world's fourth-largest economy.

The Tokyo index of banking stocks was down 10% at 0537 GMT. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( MUFG ), Japan's biggest bank by assets, fell 10%.

The hit to banking stocks in Tokyo, some of the world's largest lenders by assets, was a grim reminder of the global impact of Trump's protectionist policies and the shakiness of Japan's own exit from deflation.

After years of stop-start growth and frozen wages, Japan last year finally appeared to break through its long malaise, as prices - and wages - began to rise. In a hugely symbolic move, the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost two decades.

Whether that growth path can continue, analysts have said, depends to a large extent on what happens next in the United States. The world's largest economy is the main market for Japanese automakers, the country's economic engine, as well as other industries.