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Tokyo - Japan's Nikkei average dropped 0.7% on Friday, coming off a seven-month high, as the yen strengthened against the dollar and the euro in holiday-thinned trade.
But general bullishness in global equities markets and a positive outlook for the Nikkei in 2011 will provide support for the market during the last week of trade for the year, investors said.
Trading volume dropped to its lowest since August 9 and posted its second worst performance this year, ahead of holidays in other major markets.
Less than 1.3 billion shares changed hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, well below last week's average of around 2.1 billion shares.
The benchmark Nikkei fell 67.29 points to 10 279.19. It climbed to its highest since May 14 on Wednesday. Markets were closed on Thursday for a public holiday.
The broader Topix index was 0.5% lower at 901.66.
