By Stanley White TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell on Thursday as concerns about a spike in domestic coronavirus infections and a potential return of restrictions on economic activity prompted investors to lock in profit on recent gains. The Nikkei 225 Index.N225 was down 0.38% at 29,618.93, as of 0203 GMT, while the broader Topix.TOPX declined 0.85% to 1,950.57. The governor of Tokyo is considering adopting emergency measures in response to a sudden increase in coronavirus infections and the spread of a new variant of the virus, according to domestic media. The western city of Osaka is also set to declare a medical emergency after its number of new infections rose to a record high, which has sparked alarm among public health officials.urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M014O Reduced operating hours for restaurants and shops intended to slow the infection rate could hamper economic growth. In addition, more analysts are starting to express concern about Japan's slow pace of vaccination against the coronavirus. "Japanese equities may slow down relative to other markets," Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co said. "Markets are placing a lot of emphasis on the size of fiscal stimulus and the vaccination rate. More restrictions would be a negative factor because that would delay a recovery in services consumption." The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd4502.T down 2.85%, followed by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc8306.T losing 2.41%. In the positive territory, Hitachi Metals Ltd5486.T rose 4.36% after the Nikkei newspaper reported that a group led by Bain Capital has emerged as the preferential bidder for a 53% stake in the company worth around $7.3 billion.urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2M03B1 Shares in parent company Hitachi Ltd6501.T fell 1.03%. Toshiba Corp6502.T rose 1.21% a day after receiving a $20 billion offer from CVC Capital Partners to take it private. In the previous session, Toshiba's shares surged by their daily limit to the highest in more than four years.urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2LZ3JM (Reporting by Stanley White, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((stanley.white@tr.com; +81 (0)3 4563 2799; twitter.com/stanleywhite1 ;))

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