(Updates for market close)

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

closed at its lowest in three months on Tuesday as major

technology shares tracked Wall Street losses overnight and on

weaker sentiment amid speculation that the U.S. could toughen

semiconductor restrictions on China.

The Nikkei finished down 1.4% at 38,237.79, its

lowest closing level since November 29, while the broader Topix

was 0.4% lower at 2,724.7.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down more than 1% on Monday, as

investors worried about demand for tech supporting artificial

intelligence while they waited for results from market

heavyweight Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that U.S.

officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch

counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) and ASML

engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China

as the U.S. looks to limit China's technological prowess.

Japan's Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) declined 4.9% and peer Advantest ( ADTTF )

, which counts Nvidia ( NVDA ) among its customers, shed 6.5%.

The yen did little to help boost shares after the Japanese

currency touched its strongest level against the dollar since

early December the previous day, although the dollar was a bit

firmer on Tuesday at 149.81 yen JPY=EBS.

Elsewhere, Itochu ( ITOCF ), Marubeni ( MARUF ), Mitsubishi

Corp ( MSBHF ), Mitsui ( MITSF ) and Sumitomo Corp ( SSUMF ) surged

after Warren Buffett said on Saturday that his conglomerate

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) will likely increase its ownership

in the five Japanese trading houses.

While Buffett's remarks have bolstered the trading firms,

it's unlikely to impact overall sentiment on Japan's stock

market, said James Halse, managing director of Sydney-based

Senjin Capital.

"The world had its 'Buffett-thinks-Japan-is-great' moment

with coverage of his visit in 2023. A modest increase in his

trading company holding is unlikely to see a repeat of that," he

said.

Among other major shares, Uniqlo parent firm Fast Retailing ( FRCOF )

gave up 3% and AI-focused startup investor SoftBank

Group fell 4.3%, while automaker Toyota Motor ( TM )

edged up 0.2%.