"The market has yet to bottom, and volatility will likely remain for another month, " said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager for research at Chibagin Asset Management.

WSJ: Tokyo Shares End Sharply Lower

They are unlikely to be helped by their old-fashioned top executives, says Hiroshi Okumura, a professor at Chuo University, who argues that most industrial managers, like bank executives, still have no feel for long-term strategy.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s keiretsu

"It was a very fast-moving market today, but the data for trading volume and value, while robust, were not terribly high relative to last Thursday's selloff, " said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager for research at Chibagin Asset Management.

WSJ: 5.2% Drop Takes Tokyo Stocks Into a Correction

"With some softening in the dollar, players are electing to take profits as the market has risen almost without a hitch since the Bank of Japan's monetary policy loosening on April 4, " said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager Chibagin Asset Management.

WSJ: Kospi Outperforms, Shanghai Lags

"The situation in Italy can be extrapolated to carry larger significance in Europe, but the reality is that the Continent's financial system is much more stable than when regional political events could trigger a panic-induced sell-off, " said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management.

WSJ: Asian Shares Down; Nikkei Underperforms