TOKYO: Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday after a strong rally in the previous session and falls in US shares as investors awaited a Bank of Japan decision later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.71 percent or 205.44 points at 28,860.88 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.38 percent or 7.75 points to 2,005.33.

"Japanese shares are seen dominated by sell orders after falls on Wall Street, with investors keeping their eyes on a Bank of Japan policy decision even though no policy change is expected," said senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama of Monex.

Tokyo stocks open higher after Fed decision

The Japanese central bank will conclude a two-day policy meeting later on Friday.

Falls in the US tech-rich Nasdaq index, which ended down 2.5 percent, particularly weighed on the market, analysts said.

The dollar fetched 113.68 yen in early Asian trade, against 113.67 yen in New York on Thursday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Toshiba was down 1.14 percent at 4,687 yen, after it laid out measures to improve corporate governance and relationships with shareholders.

Sony Group was down 1.71 percent at 13,800 yen following reports that Bruce Springsteen has sold his music rights to Sony for half a billion dollars.

Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 0.57 percent at 3,157 yen after the company said it has submitted an approval request for Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine to the Japanese health ministry.

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