Tokyo stocks fell Thursday, weighed down by profit-taking.
The 225-issue Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gave up 304.55 points, or 1.06%, to close at 28,341.95, after climbing 284.33 points Wednesday.
The Topix index ended down 5.97 points, or 0.32%, at 1,865.12, following a 24.07-point advance the previous day.
The Tokyo market started out Thursday on the minus side, as selling to lock in profits took the upper hand following a three-day rising streak until Wednesday.
Supported by buying on dips, the market resisted widening its losses later in the morning. The Topix even emerged to the sunny side at one point.
Both the Nikkei and the Topix, however, fell deep into negative territory in the afternoon, pressured by drops in other Asian markets and futures for the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average in off-hours trading, brokers said.