Japanese stocks fell on Thursday in slim trade, loosing earlier gains as investors took profit ahead of a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting that could shed light on its plans over further quantitative easing.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.6 percent lower at 18,435.87. The broader Topix shed 0.6 percent to 1,518.22, with only 1.84 billion shares changing hands.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.6 percent to 13,590.55.
