TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Japan's supreme court dismissed on Thursday a request to block a plan by manufacturer Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho Ltd's to issue a poison pill, Kyodo News said, referring to a corporate strategy to protect against a takeover.

Tokyo Kikai can now issue new shares that would dilute the top shareholder's stake of 40%, a measure already approved by shareholders in a controversial vote that excluded the top shareholder.

The decision is the first to examine a bid to exclude an investor from a shareholder vote on a poison pill defence, and could cast a shadow over the future of hostile takeover bids in the world's third-largest economy. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)