Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Japanese shares were down on Thursday as investor hopes for monetary easing from the central bank were dashed.
The Bank of Japan held rates unchanged despite pressure to take further action, after cutting interest rates to negative in January failed to provide a much needed boost for the economy, reports BBC.
The Nikkei 225 fell by 2.5 per cent to 16,864.82 points.
Economic data released on Thursday showed a slip back into deflation while industrial production expanded.
In China, the mainland's Shanghai Composite fell 0.7 per cent to 2,933.64 points while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 21,384.61 .
In Australia, Sydney's ASX/200 rose by 0.4 per cent to 5,206.70.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index lost 0.6 per cent to 2002.30.
Earlier in the morning, the country's tech giant Samsung reported a 12 per cent rise in operating profit, beating analyst forecasts.
BBN/SK/AD