Tokyo stocks fell Monday amid investor concerns about escalating tensions between Japan and China, and declines on Wall Street last week. The U.S. dollar was down against the yen and the euro.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues fell 102.73 points, or 0.87 percent, at 11,772.02 points in the morning session. The index rose 63.76 points, or 0.54 percent, Friday.
The dollar was trading at 108.43 yen at 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) Monday, down 0.22 yen from late Friday but above the 108.30 yen it bought in New York later that day.
Tokyo stocks took their cue from Wall Street, where the market declined Friday after oil prices fell for the fifth straight day, prompting investors to pocket recent gains.
Mining and marine transportation issues were hit Monday morning in Tokyo, including Nippon Mining Holdings Inc.
Large anti-Japan protests in China over the weekend were also prompting concerns about the potential impact on the region's two largest economies.
Thousands of Chinese in Beijing took to the streets in protest with some throwing rocks at the Japanese Embassy on Saturday over a controversial new Japanese textbook that critics say whitewash Japan's colonial history.
"It's a risk factor" causing players to refrain from buying Japanese stocks aggressively, said Daiwa Securities strategist Kazuhiro Miyake.
In New York Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 84.98, or 0.81 percent, to 10,461.34. The Nasdaq composite index lost 19.44, or 0.96 percent, to 1,999.35.
The broader TOPIX, which includes all issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, lost 9.58 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,191.72 points in the morning. The TOPIX rose 4.47 points, or 0.37 percent, the day before.
In other currency trading, the euro rose to US$1.2916 Monday morning in Tokyo from US$1.2827 late Friday afternoon and to 140.05 yen from 139.40 yen.