Japanese stocks faced fresh pressure on Thursday as chip stocks tracked Wall Street's overnight decline and amid more details from the Bank of Japan pointing to further monetary tightening.
The Nikkei index fell 0.74 percent to close at 34,831.15, having fallen 2.5 percent during the session before rising 0.8 percent. After falling 12.4 percent on Monday and rising on Tuesday, the index has retreated about 20 percent from its July high above 42,000.
The broader Topix index fell 1.11 percent to 2,461.7 points.
Earlier today, details from the Bank of Japan revealed a tilt towards further monetary tightening as the bank released the minutes of its July meeting.
The volatility prompted the finance minister to say that authorities were closely monitoring stock market developments, but were not prepared to intervene.
Among individual stocks, Tokyo Electron, a chip-making equipment maker, fell 0.4 percent, while peer Lasertech jumped 22.6 percent, the biggest boost to the Nikkei, after the company said its annual net profit was likely to rise 25 percent.
Meanwhile, chip testing equipment maker Advantest Inc.'s shares fell 4 percent.
Nitori Holdings jumped 8 percent after the home decor products retailer said its quarterly recurring profit rose 7.5 percent.
Fujisoft shares rose 20 percent to their highest level in a single day after local media reported that U.S. investment fund KKR & Co. plans to help the software developer go private under a management buyout worth about 600 billion yen ($4.09 billion).
