TOKYO (AP) — Japan's embattled Toshiba Corp. says its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co. has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Toshiba said in a statement Wednesday that it filed the chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New York. The move had been largely expected.

Toshiba is expecting a loss of 500 billion yen ($4.3 billion) for April-December of last year, including a 712.5 billion yen ($6.2 billion) hit from its embattled nuclear business.

Toshiba acquired Westinghouse in 2006 with much fanfare, making nuclear power an important part of its business strategy.

After the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, costs of the business have ballooned because of growing safety concerns and regulations, and a souring of sentiment toward nuclear power in some countries, such as Germany.