Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday as investors sought to lock in profits from recent rallies after US shares retreated.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 1.50 percent or 351.27 points to 23,114.26 in early trade, while the broader Topix index fell 1.18 percent or 19.19 points to 1,612.05.
"Japanese shares are seen falling sharply after US rallies ended," Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.
A wait-and-see attitude ahead of key US jobs data later in the day is also weighing on the market, analysts said.
The dollar fetched 106.19 yen in early Asian trade, against 106.17 yen in New York late Thursday.
In Tokyo, game giant Nintendo was down 2.30 percent at 59,130 yen, Sony was down 1.78 percent at 8,276 yen and chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron was down 2.89 percent at 27,365 yen.
But Honda was up 3.23 percent at 2,783 yen after it and General Motors announced they were establishing a strategic alliance in North America to share vehicle platforms and development costs.
Wall Street stocks suffered steep declines, giving back some of the gains from a torrid August as investors cashed in amid worries about a bubble in prices.
The tech-rich Nasdaq lost 5.0 percent, the Dow shed 2.8 percent to finish at 28,292.73, while the broad based S&P tumbled 3.5 percent.
