The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 14.08 points to 9,043.18. The Topix index lost 0.45 percent or 3.49 points to 775.57.

Shortly before the opening bell, official data showed Japan's exports fell for a fifth straight month in July, but the nation still managed to record a trade surplus as the economy gradually recovers from the March 11 disaster.

Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year ago to 5.78 trillion yen ($75.4 billion), better than market expectation of a 4.4-percent fall, the Finance Ministry said.

"We're trying to confirm whether the recovery trend in exports will continue," Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Takahashi said there was still a trend for buying shares of companies dependent on domestic demand and for avoiding exporters due to the strong yen.

The yen's strength hurts Japanese exporters by making their products more expensive abroad and reducing their repatriated overseas earnings.

The dollar changed hands at 76.62 yen early Thursday against 76.75 yen in New York.

The euro firmed to $1.4414 and 110.47 yen in early Tokyo trade, compared with $1.4406 and 110.45 yen in New York overnight.

The Swiss franc moved to 1.1403 to the euro, from 1.1434, and 0.7906 francs to the dollar, from 0.7935, after the Swiss government said it would spend two billion francs to counter the impact of the strong franc on its economy.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, up just 4.28 points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,410.21.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011