TOKYO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.7 percent on Friday, with financials falling after consumer finance firm Aiful Corp said it was asking for debt repayments to be rescheduled.
But large banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group turned positive in later trade, buoyed by short-covering after sliding all week on worries about financial policy under Japan's new government and ahead of a long weekend.
The benchmark Nikkei ended down 73.26 points at 10,370.94 after earlier falling as far as 10,292.50, a loss of 1.4 percent. The broader Topix ended flat at 939.44. (Reporting by Elaine Lies)