Japan's main Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent after the country's inflation rate hit a new high for the year, at 1.9 percent. The broader Topix lost 0.1 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, sentiment was stronger. South Korea's Kospi is being lifted by chip giants SK Hynix and Samsung. At lunchtime, the Kospi is up 0.8 percent.
In Shanghai, the stock market is unchanged, while Shenzhen and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are up 0.8 percent each.
