Nikkei futures in Chicago traded at 19,170, while Osaka futures were at 19,090. The benchmark Nikkei 225 finished down nearly 0.5 percent at 19,283.54.
In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 traded fractionally lower in early trade, down 0.06 percent at 5,735.80.
In company news, troubled Japanese airbag maker Takata is setting up a compensation fund for victims of faulty air bags, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ said Takata’s $125 million program will steer money to consumers harmed when the air bags ruptured and sprayed shrapnel.
Earlier this year, Takata agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and pay a total of $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from its fraudulent conduct in relation to sales of defective airbag inflators.
Elsewhere, Japanese internet and telecom giant SoftBank is close to finalizing an investment in WeWork, with the deal expected to be worth over $3 billion, a source told CNBC.
Earlier this month, SoftBank said it would buy U.S.-based private equity and asset management firm Fortress Investment Group for about $3.3 billion in cash.
