The Nikkei 225 Index decreased 648 points or 0.98 percent on Thursday to close at 65652 points. The decline was led by Taiyo Yuden (-11.24%), GS Yuasa (-10.07%) and Mitsui Kinzoku (-9.92%). On the upside, the strongest performers were Omron (16.08%), KAO (12.45%) and Meiji Holdings (11.30%).