Japanese shares slightly slipped on Thursday at open, mirroring a quiet session on Wall Street amid uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's future policy direction.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index began the day marginally lower, dropping 50.2 points to 51,013.15.
Domestically, a report from the Bank of Japan showed the nation's producer price index (PPI) rose 2.7% in October from a year earlier, exceeding market forecasts.
Market attention also remains fixed on the yen, following renewed comments from Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama regarding currency fluctuations.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama reiterated concerns over the yen's decline as it neared 155 against the dollar, a level that previously prompted market intervention, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.