Tokyo stocks fell for a fourth consecutive session Tuesday, dragged down by a strong yen and worries over China, while a system glitch affected part of the trading day. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost another 1.32 percent or 314.33 points to close at 23,469.39 while the broader Topix index was down 1.76 percent or 31.53 points at 1,761.12.
Dealers said a strong yen was prompting investors to cash in on recent gains.
"The Tokyo market is still in an adjustment period after shares rose quite fast," said Hikaru Sato, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.
A strong yen is negative for Japanese exporters as it erodes profit earned overseas when repatriated.
The dollar was trading at 113.11 yen, down from 113.16 yen in New York Monday afternoon and near 114 yen before Tokyo markets closed Friday for the three-day weekend.
"Investors are also worried about China," Sato told AFP.
"We have to keep an eye on developments in the US-China trade war, which remains unpredictable," he added.
A testy public interaction between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Beijing on Monday refuelled market worries about Beijing-Washington relations, which have taken a hefty knock from tit-for-tat tariffs.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it suffered a trading system glitch, which made some securities firms unable to make orders.
"While it was bad news, the direct impact of the computer glitch appeared limited," Sato said.
In individual stocks trade, Panasonic lost 1.94 percent to 1,308.5 yen with Sony down 0.28 percent at 6,577 yen. Toyota, which announced a massive recall of its hybrid cars on Friday, plunged 3.08 percent to 6,786 yen. IT investor SoftBank Group dropped 3.38 percent to 10,700 yen.