The Nikkei share average fell as much as 1.8 percent during the morning session but recovered some of those losses to end a day of subdued trading down by 0.4 percent at 18,916.02.
Kirin Holdings Co Ltd fell as much as 3.8 percent after announcing it had revised down its operating profit forecast for the financial year to December 31, 2015. But the brewer reaffirmed its revenue and dividend forecasts and ended the day up by 3.1 percent after its price slipped to an attractive level.
The broader Topix fell 0.4 percent to 1,531.28 and the JPX-Nikkei 400 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 13,795.82.