Japan's Nikkei average fell more than 2 percent to hit its lowest in seven

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weeks on Friday, with exporters hurt by a stronger yen and after escalating sovereign debt problems in Europe and an unexpected rise in jobless claims sent Wall Street sharply lower.

The benchmark Nikkei slid 2.8 percent to 10,070.47, after falling as low as 10,062.92, its lowest since Dec. 18.

The broader Topix declined 2.2 percent to 890.83.

Sony Corp slipped 1.3 percent after it halved its annual loss forecast on a rebound in its flat-TV business and cost cuts.

Toyota Motor Corp inched down after a report that it plans to recall an estimated 270,000 units of its Prius hybrid in the United States and Japan to fix a brake problem. Toyota said on Friday it had made no decision on whether to recall the Prius.