The Nikkei 225 index slipped 20.66 points to 15,293.91 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.13 percent, or 1.67 points, at 1,268.83.
Trading was muted with many investors away for Japan's traditional mid-summer holiday.
"With volume so light and incentives so few, the selling we're seeing today is nothing more than rudimentary after a stretch of strong gains," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
"It's entirely possible, however, that even following the resumption of 'normal' trading next week, overall market movements will remain somewhat subdued," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
In share trading, Skymark rose 1.19 percent to 169.0 yen after the airline said it was terminating some domestic services and raising fares as it faces potentially huge penalties in the wake of a cancelled jet order with European plan manufacturer Airbus.
Sony climbed 1.88 percent to 1,869.5 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported the firm plans to sell image sensors for cameras used in vehicles.
The consumer electronics and entertainment giant is looking to tap new growth markets on the back of a move toward driverless cars and other "smart" vehicles that depend on image sensor technology, the newspaper said.
In currency markets, the dollar fetched 102.48 yen in midday Tokyo trade, compared with 102.45 yen in New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.37 percent, extending the prior day's gains after jobs data continued to suggest the US labour market was improving.
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