By Stanley White
    TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed lower on
Tuesday as worries about delays in distributing coronavirus
vaccines, delay in U.S. stimulus package and jitters before
earnings season triggered profit-taking.
    The Nikkei 225 Index  .N225  ended down 0.96% at 28,546.18
points, with consumer cyclicals, energy and materials makers
leading the decline. The broader Topix  .TOPX  fell 0.75% to
1,848.00.
    The United States has struggled to ramp up vaccinations,
European countries are facing delays from suppliers, and Japan
is yet to start vaccinations, which is weighing on investor
sentiment.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2K02EV  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2K00HA
    In addition, Merck & Co Inc  MRK.N  has ended development of
its COVID-19 vaccines, raising additional concern about a lack
of supply.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2K00RD
    Japanese shares jumped to a 30-year high last week, but a 
busy earnings calendar in the United States and Japan this week,
as well as a Federal Reserve meeting ending Wednesday, is
prompting investors to take profits.
    "There are renewed concerns that the coronavirus will be
with us longer than anticipated, which explains the decline in
cyclical stocks and gains in defensive shares," said Norihiro
Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
Stanley Securities.
    Several Bank of Japan policymakers called for more flexible
purchases of exchange-traded funds, which may emerge as another
negative factor for equities when the central bank reviews its
policies in March, according to some analysts.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2K106U
     Top underperformers on the Topix 30 were Daikin Industries
Ltd  6367.T  down 2.98%, followed by Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T 
losing 2.31%.
    Top gainers were Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd  4502.T  up
1.83 %, followed by KDDI Corp  9433.T  rising 1.23%. 
    There were 80 advancers on the Nikkei index against 157
decliners.
    The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board  .TOPX  was 0.93 billion, compared with the average
of 1.12 billion in the past 30 days.

 (Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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