Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday after a three-day public holiday, tracking recent declines on Wall Street caused by weak economic data.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.59 percent or 115.04 points to 19,504.31 in early trade, while the broader Topix index lost 0.69 percent or 9.81 points to 1,421.45.
During the past four sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US fell more than 680 points in total, "which is weighing on the Japanese market," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex.
Wall Street stocks finished a choppy session mostly lower Wednesday as oil prices fell and fresh US labour data showed another spike in joblessness.
Adding to the dark outlook, the European Commission said the eurozone economy would contract by 7.7 percent in 2020, as the catastrophic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak sweep through the bloc.
Sentiment was further dimmed as oil prices fell, snapping a five-day streak of gains amid doubts over how fast demand will recover. US data showed an increase in crude stockpiles, but not as big a jump as analysts expected.
The dollar fetched 106.17 yen in early Asian trade, against 106.09 yen in New York late Wednesday.
In Tokyo, major shares were lower, with Sony slipping 1.16 percent to 6,727 yen, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing off 1.46 percent at 49,840 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial down 1.97 percent at 2,684 yen.
Nintendo was up 1.01 percent at 45,100 yen ahead of its full-year earnings report due after the market close.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.9 percent at 23,664.64.
