TOKYO: Japanese stocks snapped a five-day winning streak on Wednesday as investors grew cautious that the market was becoming overbought, but losses were limited by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's message of policy flexibility.

The Nikkei share average ended 0.1 percent lower at 18,585.20 points. It bounced between positive and negative territory during the session.

The broader Topix was flat at 1,507.62, with 2.2 billion shares changing hands, the lowest level in more than two weeks.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 shed 0.1 percent to 13,665.59.

Copyright Reuters, 2015