Tokyo stocks opened sharply lower on Friday morning due to market nervousness triggered by the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine.
At 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plunged 239.18 points, or 1.56 percent, from Thursday to 15,131.08.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 16.99 points, or 1.33 percent, to 1,256. 39.
Major decliners included insurance, rubber product and metal product shares.