JOIN USTokyo's benchmark Nikkei index opened slightly higher Wednesday following three days of rallies and after US shares retreated on warnings about lingering economic risks from the coronavirus.
The Nikkei 225 was up 0.27 per cent, or 54.65 points, at 20,488.10 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.02 per cent, or 0.30 points, to 1,485.
Investors were "disheartened by falls in US shares and are profit-taking", Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
US President Donald Trump's warning that Washington may leave the World Health Organization is also weighing on the market, he noted.
With more fatalities and cases in the United States than any other country by far, the under-pressure US president has blamed the WHO for not doing enough to combat the initial spread of coronavirus.
"They're a puppet of China, they're China-centric to put it nicer," he said earlier this week. "They gave us a lot of bad advice."
Trump had already suspended US funding to the UN body, and after his White House comments, he tweeted a letter he had sent to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus threatening to make that freeze permanent.
In Tokyo, Sony fell 1.48 per cent to 6,800 yen after it said it plans to take Sony Financial private in a tender offer at 2,600 yen per share.
Sony Financial surged 7.84 per cent to 2,601 yen.
Fujifilm dropped 3.41 per cent to 4,893 yen after reports said its anti-flu drug Avigan, a candidate drug for treating novel coronavirus infections, has not shown efficacy in treating the respiratory disease in clinical trials so far.
Mitsubishi Motors was down 2.69 per cent at 289 yen after it reported its full-year operating profit dropped nearly 90 per cent.
Among other shares, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.33 per cent at 52,450 yen, and video game giant Nintendo was up 1.30 per cent at 44,550 yen.
The dollar fetched 107.96 yen in Asian trade, against 107.66 yen in New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow finished down 1.6 per cent at 24,206.86.