The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 90.39 points to end at 8,682.15. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 5.47 points or 0.73 percent at 746.02.

Tokyo stocks trailed weak US markets, which were weighed by the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" report that showed the economy remained weak in September.

The report revealed a still-weak job market and companies unsure about the outlook, "underscoring broad uncertainty about the US economy," said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management.

Investors are awaiting further developments in the European debt crisis ahead of the summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Sunday, brokers said.

Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of the equity division at SMBC Nikko Securities, said: "Market energy remains poor.

"Policy measures taken in Europe lag the market. Policy makers hope to avoid a (deeper) crisis, but the action plan isn't set yet" for the summit.

"Some see talks among European officials as stalling" over solutions for the debt crisis, Okumura of Chibagin Asset Management said.

Reports of ongoing discord over plans for a comprehensive rescue plan for the eurozone also helped push shares lower, analysts said.

The dollar stood at 76.76 yen in Tokyo, down from 76.82 yen in New York late Wednesday.

The euro was at $1.3715 and 105.20 yen in Tokyo, slipping from $1.3755 and 105.65 in New York.

Major exporters lost ground. Honda Motor lost 2.94 percent to 2,304 yen and Sony shed 1.59 percent to 1,544 yen.

Olympus dropped 4.89 percent to 1,321 yen, losing more than 45 percent since Friday when the company said it had ousted its first non-Japanese chief executive.

Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, jumped 35.81 percent to 292 yen, lifted by speculative purchases.