Japanese equities saw a sharp selloff, with the Nikkei 225 falling 1915 points in a single session. Memory chipmaker Kioxia (KIOXIA) slumped, weighing on AI semiconductor-related shares. The U.S. dollar traded near 162 yen. The drop was attributed to selling pressure across the global AI chip sector after TSMC earnings, alongside rapid short-covering in Japan that accelerated the selling.