TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share gauge lost ground on Monday, dragged down by technology shares after leaders of major AI companies called for a slowdown in development.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 slid 0.81 percent to close at 63,492.99 after falling as much as 2 percent earlier. The broader Topix gained 0.74 percent to 4,058.21.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Saturday urged AI companies to slow the advancement of model capabilities, a viewpoint supported in social media posts by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, xAI chief Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis, chair of Google’s DeepMind division. Altman said separately that OpenAI will not go public in 2026 as it focuses on safety.
Breadth on the Nikkei was largely positive, with 158 advancers against 66 decliners, but the heavy weighting of tech companies dragged the gauge lower.