Japanese stocks are lower as caution continues over the likelihood of a Bank of Japan rate increase in the near term and the strength of the U.S. labor market.
Electronics and retail shares are leading the declines. Renesas Electronics is down 4.3% and Aeon Co. is 2.4% lower. USD/JPY is at 155.16, down from 155.37 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close.
Investors are closely watching economic data and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's policy measures to boost the economy.
The Nikkei Stock Average is down 1.3% at 50378.09.

Sumber : Dow Jones Newswires