The Nikkei 225 Index fell 2.8% to below 70,400, while the broader Topix Index slipped 0.7% to 3,987 on Friday, giving back the previous session's gains as technology stocks came under renewed selling pressure after Thursday's strong rally. Japanese equities also tracked a volatile session on Wall Street, where losses in megacap technology stocks outweighed optimism driven by a bullish outlook for memory-chip makers. Among the biggest decliners were Kioxia Holdings (-4.1%), SoftBank Group (-10.8%), Advantest (-6.2%), Tokyo Electron (-2.3%), and Taiyo Yuden (-8.3%). On the economic front, data showed Tokyo's core inflation rate accelerated for the first time in eight months, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of Japan will continue raising interest rates.