Tokyo shares closed lower Tuesday as investors sought to lock in profits after two days of rallies.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index inched down 0.01 percent, or 2.87 points, to 28,868.91, while the broader Topix index ended down 0.15 percent, or 3.00 points, at 1,981.96.
"After the Nikkei index gained more than 1,000 points over the previous two sessions, profit-taking moves were seen in morning trade," Okasan Online Securities said.
Overall, the volume of trade was thin with investors already looking ahead to the next meeting of the US Federal Reserve in September, the brokerage said.
At the Fed meeting, all eyes will be on the pace of the central bank's rate hikes to tackle inflation.
Before that, market players will monitor events such as the Jackson Hole symposium of international central bankers next week, as well as key US data including retail sales, Okasan added.
Among major shares, SoftBank Group fell 2.56 percent to 5,749 yen, and Toyota slipped 0.54 percent to 2,121.
Shipping firms were sharply lower, with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines dropping 4.12 percent to 3,610 yen, and Nippon Yusen losing 4.09 percent to 10,320 yen.
