Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell more than 1,500 points at its lows on Tuesday, but the benchmark pared some of those losses ahead of its close.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei tumbled 4.73 percent, or 1,071.84 points, to close at 21,610.24 as stocks across sectors pulled back. The losses followed a massive U.S. sell-off on Monday, which saw the Dow Jones industrial average break below the 25,000 level and erase gains made by the index this year.

The broader Topix index ended the session down 4.4 percent.

The Nikkei's losses on Tuesday extended the index's more than 1.5 percent declines in the Monday session, but few blamed domestic factors.

"There are few factors to pull down Japan['s] stock market except [the] U.S. stock correction," said Masaki Motomura, an equity strategist at Nomura, highlighting expectations for Japanese corporate earnings growth in fiscal 2017 and 2018.

The move lower also came as the dollar, which edged up against other major currencies overnight, slipped against the Japanese yen, which is often regarded as a safe-haven currency. The greenback fetched 109.05 yen on Tuesday afternoon after earlier trading as low as 108.43.