"Investors would like to sit on the fence ahead of major events such as the FOMC and BOJ meetings"
- Takeru Ogihara, chief strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co.
Japanese stocks fell for a third straight day on Monday.
The Nikkei 225 erased 0.20%, or 19.19 points, to 9,542.17. The broader Topix lost 0.30%, or 2.40, to 809.54.
"Investors would like to sit on the fence ahead of major events such as the FOMC and BOJ meetings," said Takeru Ogihara, chief strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co.
"We are not seeing big factors moving the market."
Investors are also cautious ahead of French election, said Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray.
"People are worried… because if [Hollande] beats Sarkozy, he's going to look to renegotiate a lot of the treaties France has signed... The European problem hasn't gone away."
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