The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.2 percent to 22,817.46 in midmorning trade while the broader Topix shed 0.1 percent to 1,814.09.

Suppliers of Apple such as Murata Manufacturing lost 0.6 percent and Taiyo Yuden dropped 1.6 percent after the US tech giant's shares declined 0.6 percent overnight.

Chip equipment makers also stumbled, with Tokyo Electron falling 1.7 percent and Advantest Corp declining 0.9 percent, while silicon wafer maker Sumco Corp tumbled 3.7 percent.

Gainers included financial stocks and shippers. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group surged 1.6 percent and Nomura Holdings advanced 0.8 percent.

Shippers Mitsui OSK Lines surged 0.8 percent and Nippon Yusen KK advanced 1.5 percent after the Baltic dry index of freight charges rose overnight again to its highest level since January 2014.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones 1,102 to 834 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange first section.