The Nikkei average ended trading at 14,775.22 points on Monday, down 27.38 points from Friday and a new closing low for the year.
The year's previous closing low of 14,799.40 was registered Dec. 22. The key index plunged to the year's intraday low of 14,488.21 at one point during lackluster trading in the morning.
The drop took place on arbitrage unwinding following weaker futures trading and persistent concerns over the domestic economy, traders said. The broader-based Tokyo Stock Price Index covering all issues on the first section rose 4.28 to close at 1,147.87.
During the morning session, the 225-issue benchmark Nikkei average on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange moved between 14,488.21 and 14,852.95. Morning turnover on the first section dipped to an estimated 160 million shares from Friday morning's 170 million shares, with collapsed Yamaichi Securities leading the morning's trading volume.