In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index retreated 0.3 percent around lunchtime, while the broader Topix index was down 0.2 percent.
In Hong Kong, it was the same and the Hang Seng index had fallen back 0.3 percent during the morning.
Shanghai’s composite index was at minus 0.5 percent, while the Shenzhen composite index had fallen 1.1 percent.