Markets in Asia began the week mixed, with gaming shares across the region taking a hit after reports that China was detaining several staff at one of Australia's largest casino companies.
The Nikkei 225 Index gained 43.75 points, or 0.3%, to 16,900.12
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tailed off 195.77 points, or 0.8%, to 23,037.54
Shares of Crown Resorts, fell 13.9% to 11.15 Australian dollars ($8.48 U.S.), after the company told regulators that 18 of its employees were detained by Chinese authorities.
China's Foreign Ministry told media outlets that Australian nationals were under criminal detention by the Chinese authorities for their "suspected involvements in gambling crimes."
Shares of rival Star Entertainment dropped 3.7% to close at A$5.52 a share.
The Japanese yen traded at 104.04 against the dollar as of late Monday, compared with levels below 103.80 in the previous week.
Shares of major exporters closed mostly higher; Toyota shares were up 0.6%, Nissan gained 0.2% and Mitsubishi Electric added 2.4%. Honda shares edged down 0.1%, while Sony shares fell 0.4%
A weaker yen is usually a positive for exporters as it increases their overseas profits when converted back to local currency.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar fell from an earlier session high of $0.7632 to around $0.7589 as of late Monday.
Hong Kong-listed gaming shares were also lower, with Wynn Macau down 3.2%, Sands China lower by 3.3% and Melco International down 7.1% in late afternoon trade.
Samsung Electronics shares rose 0.8%, after erasing earlier losses of nearly 1.3%. Last week, the company said its Galaxy Note 7 debacle was going to cost it more than $5 billion U.S., after it abandoned production of the handsets.
Energy plays were lower around the region, as Santos shares fell 2.4%, Oil Search was down 1%, South Korea's S-Oil retraced losses to trade flat, while Hong Kong listed shares of CNOOC fell 1.9% in late-afternoon trade. Japan's Inpex and Fuji Oil bucked the trend to close up 2.4% and 1.2%, respectively.
Elsewhere, shares of Panasonic closed up 2.05 percent, following reports the Japanese electronics maker was going to collaborate with Tesla Motors to manufacture solar cells and modules in the United States.
CHINA
The CSI 300 slid 27.97 points, or 0.9%, to 3,277.88
On tap this week is a parade of data from China, including third-quarter gross domestic product, house prices, industrial production numbers, retail sales and fixed asset investment.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi moved up 4.95 points, or 0.2%, to 2,027.61
The Straits Times Index in Singapore nicked up 1.83 points, or 0.1%, to 2,817.03
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index recovered 11.05 points, or 0.4%, to 9,176.22
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 66.89 points, or 0.9%, to 7,066.37
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 45.35 points, or 0.8%, to 5,388.68
