Japanese stocks slipped on Friday as investors closed positions as the year-end approaches, but sentiment remained upbeat about prospects for 2015. With overseas markets closed on Thursday for Christmas, there was little in the way of market catalysts. The Nikkei benchmark fell 0.1 percent to 17,784.04 by 0105 GMT, after notching its first drop in six sessions on Thursday.
Investors remained bullish on the performance of Japanese equities in the new year, expecting the average to exceed a 14-1/2 year high of 18,300.39.
"Investors don't mind a small drop of the last couple of days as there's fresh hopes for a rally next year," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management.
Leading exporters' shares were steady as the yen traded at around 120.25 against the dollar. The weak yen boosts Japanese exporters' profits and may make firms more competitive.
Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp added 0.4 percent, while Panasonic Corp slipped 0.2 percent.
Large-cap firms were mixed, with mobile phone giant Softbank Corp ticking up 0.3 percent and Uniqlo clothes brand owner Fast Retailing Co Ltd losing 0.7 percent.
But highlighting the challenges for Japan's economy in 2015, Japan's annual core consumer inflation slowed for a fourth consecutive month in November, data showed.
Pressured by plummeting oil prices, the consumer core price index rose at an annual rate of 2.7 percent last month.
Excluding April's 3 percentage point sales tax hike, the figure was 0.7 percent, underlining the difficulty of the Bank of Japan's uphill push to achieve 2 percent inflation.
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