Tokyo stocks fell 1.57 percent Thursday morning, hit by a stronger yen and sharp losses on Wall Street that were fuelled by weak US data.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Stock Exchange fell 309.32 points to 19,436.88 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 1.63 percent, or 25.96 points, at 1,566.05.
"The US economy is supposed to be doing pretty well, but it`s actually quite unclear," said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities.
"The drop in US stocks and the lack of clarity surrounding the US economy should weigh on Japanese shares, which have gone up very quickly recently," he added.
On Wall Street, the Dow sank 1.62 percent, the S&P 500 slid 1.46 percent and the Nasdaq fell 2.37 percent.
The yen strengthened against the dollar after data showed a surprise drop in US durable goods, such as cars and appliances.
The greenback changed hands at 119.30 yen in Tokyo, down from 119.43 yen in New York and 119.62 yen earlier in Asia Wednesday.
A stronger yen tends to hurt the profitability of Japanese exporters.
In share trading Sony fell 3.31 percent to 3,164.5 yen while Toyota fell 1.05 percent to 8,603.0 yen.
Trading house Sumitomo slipped 0.79 percent to 1,368.5 yen after it warned it would fall into the red for the first time in 16 years in its fiscal year to March due largely to falling prices for oil and other commodities.
Toyo Tire & Rubber plunged 8.41 percent to 2,144.0 yen after saying some of its rubber bearings may not meet Japanese earthquake standards. The bearings, which are used to strengthen a building resistance`s to quakes, would have to be replaced at 55 facilities, the company said.
