TOKYO: Japanese shares ended lower on Thursday, tracking Wall Street's losses, as the US Federal Reserve's minutes showed that policymakers were concerned about the uncertain path of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Nikkei share average fell 1% to 22,880.62, its lowest since August 12.

The broader Topix lost 0.9% to 1,599.20, also hitting a one-week low. All but three of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded lower. Shares of semiconductor-related companies underperformed, as investors worried over Washington's expansion of curbs on China's Huawei, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 0.63% overnight.

Screen Holdings Co Ltd slumped 5.18%, while Tokyo Electron Ltd and Advantest Corp fell 3.32% and 3.59%, respectively. The Mothers Index of start-up firms' shares lost 0.98%, a day after it rallied to a two-year high.

Panasonic rose 1.51% following media reports of the company's $100 million investment to boost its battery production capacity for Tesla. Hitachi Metals soared 7.2% after Nikkei Business reported about Hitachi Ltd's plan to sell the company. Hitachi Ltd edged up 0.68%.