The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.57% to close at 29,020.63 while the Topix index shed 0.39% to finish the trading day at 1,914.98.
Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite rising 0.26% to 3,474.17 while the Shenzhen component gained 1.002% to around 14,351.86.
Investors continued to monitor the coronavirus situation in India as cases continue to climb, with more than 332,000 new daily infections registered on Friday.