The Bank of Japan unveiled fresh easing measures Thursday, sending the yen plunging after the central bank's first policy meeting under a new leader who has vowed to turn around the stuttering economy. The closely watched announcement was welcomed by as a "positive surprise" by investors, who had been concerned new governor Haruhiko Kuroda would fall short of expectations after promising to reverse decades of deflation and limp growth.

Tokyo stocks opened 1.41 percent lower on Thursday after falls on Wall Street and amid caution from investors ahead of the result of the Bank of Japan's first policy meeting under new leadership. The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 173.98 points to 12,188.22 at the start. "Markets are on edge, waiting for the Bank of Japan's long-awaited policy decision (expected around midday)," said Hiroichi Nishi, SMBC Nikko Securities general manager of equities.

Confidence among large Japanese manufacturers improved in the first quarter, a Bank of Japan (BoJ) survey showed Monday. The figures, which marked a modest uptick in confidence, saw large manufacturers' sentiment improve to minus 8 between January and March from minus 12 three months earlier, the central bank's quarterly Tankan survey showed. The figures represent the percentage of firms saying business conditions are good minus those saying they are bad and are a key measure used by the BoJ in formulating monetary policy.

Former ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said Wednesday he was confident an "appropriate" solution will be found for Cyprus's banking crisis, despite lawmakers rejecting contentious bailout terms. "The will of the international community to help is obvious, and I am confident that they will find an appropriate solution," he told the Wall Street Journal at an investment conference in Hong Kong.