The Nikkei index fell to its lowest closing level since November 2016 due to concerns over the spread of the Coruna virus.


According to Reuters, the Nikkei fell 1.7 percent to 16,726.55 points, its lowest closing level in three and a half years, to give up gains it made earlier in volatile trading.


The Nikkei Volatility Index, which measures investor expectations of volatility based on pricing options and is a measure of investor concerns, fell 0.9 percent to 56.12 and remained close to Monday's nine-year high of 60.86.


Shares of Softbank Group, a heavyweight on Nikkei, fell 10.9 percent, which reduced the group's market value to less than its local SoftBank company for mobile phones for the first time.


The broader Topix index rose 0.2 to 1,270.84 points, away from the four-year low that it touched on Tuesday.


Traders said that hopes for the BOJ to buy more heavily traded index funds supported the market in general.


Shares of Fujifilm Holdings Inc. jumped by the daily limit by 15.4 percent, after a Chinese official said the company's avian influenza, the avian flu, appeared to help people with the corona virus recover.


The performance gaps between individual stocks were among the biggest in the past few years. On the benchmark Topix 30 index, Cao shares recorded the best performance, as it rose 7.4 percent, while Softbank Group recorded the worst performance and lost 10.9 percent.