Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.51 percent at 50,494.00. Trading saw fluctuations between 50,354 and 50,744. Notable gains were reported for Itochu Corp, Sumitomo Metal Mining, Fujikura, Sapporo Holdings, and Mitsui. Conversely, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Trend Micro, Otsuka Holdings, DIC Corp, and Panasonic experienced declines.