TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed lower on Thursday on lingering worries over the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.65, or 182.25 points, to end at 27,753.37, while the broader Topix index fell 0.54 percent, or 10.37 points, to 1,926.37.

"There's still a sense of caution over the Omicron variant," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

The dollar fetched 113.03 yen in Asian trade, against 112.78 yen in New York late Wednesday.

Airlines were lower after Japan softened its suspension of all new incoming flight bookings to make it easier for citizens to return.

ANA Holdings dropped 1.73 percent to 2,208 yen while its rival Japan Airlines tumbled 2.46 percent to 2,015 yen.

The transport ministry abruptly said Wednesday it was asking airlines to stop taking all new incoming flight reservations for a month, in a surprise move affecting citizens and foreign residents.

But on Thursday, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said it would be amended to help Japanese citizens come home.

Japan has so far detected two Omicron cases.

In other major shares, Toyota was flat at 2,045.5 yen after a report said its labour union will seek wage hikes linked to the responsibilities of each worker, abandoning its usual approach of pursuing a blanket wage hike for all employees.

Its rival Honda advanced 0.22 percent to 3,182 yen while Nissan lost 2.77 percent to 542.5 yen.

Fujifilm slid 1.45 percent to 8,929 yen after a report said it will double the size of a UK plant that makes Covid vaccines.