At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 205.82 points, or 0.73%, to 27,821.43. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 21.20 points, or 1.08%, to 1,946.40.
For the month, the Nikkei posted gains of 4.88%, while for the quarter, the Nikkei lost 3.37%.
Staffing agency Recruit Holdings weighed on the Nikkei the most, falling 3.75%, followed by technology investor SoftBank Group, which fell 1.3%. Drugmaker Chugai Pharmaceutical lost 2.13%.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Industrial Production Picks Up In February-Japan industrial output picked up a seasonally adjusted 0.1% on month in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Thursday, following the upwardly revised 0.8% contraction in January (originally -1.3%). On a yearly basis, industrial production rose 0.2%, matching forecasts after slipping 0.5% in the previous month. Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is continuing to show signs of an upward movement.
CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar was little changed against greenback on Thursday, after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida commented on the recent rapid decline of the yen. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 121.63-64 yen, down from 121.87-88 yen at the same time Wednesday. The euro was at 135.63-64 yen, almost unchanged from 135.61-66 yen.
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