* Nikkei dips 0.2 pct to below 9,000
    * Toshiba rises after U.S. approves new nuclear reactors
    * Shippers surge after tariff rise recommendation
    * Softbank climbs on Alibaba.com deal

    By Dominic Lau and Mari Saito
    TOKYO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
edged down to below 9,000 on Friday as investors remained wary
about Greece's debt restructuring prospects, even after Athens
struck a long-awaited deal on a second bailout.
    Gains in Softbank Corp and shippers limited losses,
however.
    Softbank surged 4 percent after sources said Chinese
e-commerce company Alibaba Group plans to take private its Hong
Kong-listed unit, in which the Japanese telecom firm has an
indirect stake.
    Shippers, which were battered last year on
concerns over global growth and rising fuel prices, cruised 1.8
percent higher after transpacific container shippers recommended
a general rate rise of $300 per 40-foot unit from March 15 and
another increase in May to restore rates from loss-making
levels.
    A sector upgrade by JPMorgan to "overweight" from "neutral"
also boosted shipping stocks.
    Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd rose 2.1 percent to just
below its 200-day moving average, while rivals Nippon Yusen KK
 and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd both climbed 1.8
percent.
    The Nikkei was down 0.2 percent at 8,984.84 by the
midday break, with the 200-day moving average near 9,057 acting
as resistance. The broader Topix eased 0.5 percent to
780.97.
    "Foreign investors shed a lot of their positions last year
on risk-off sentiment, so right now they're buying back Japanese
equities. It's not that they're overweight at all," said Yutaka
Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
    "Domestic investors would rather take profits now ahead of
the March earnings season, and the 9,000 level is a good point
to sell for many Japanese investors."
    Trading was expected to be volatile with an option expiry.
    Toshiba Corp added 1.2 percent after the U.S.
nuclear regulatory agency approved plans by Southern Co
to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors through the
Japanese firm's U.S. unit Westinghouse.
    Yamada Denki Co Ltd, a large discount home
electronics retailer, jumped 9.6 percent after analysts said it
was maintaining a high recurring profit margin thanks to
effective management of cash discounts and a loyalty point
scheme, despite declines in sales in the third quarter.
    Volume on the main broad after the morning session was 81
percent of its full daily average for the past 90 days. 	

    CASHING IN
    Japan Tobacco, however, shed 3.7 percent after
ramping up nearly 12 percent in the previous three sessions
after the company revised up its annual guidance and dividend
outlook on Monday.
    Investors also locked in profit on banks after the sector
 rallied more than 12 percent this year after last
year's 21 percent drop.
    Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui
Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group
shed between 1.6 and 2.3 percent. They were still deep in
"overbought" territory, despite those losses, with their 14-day
relative strength indexes above 70.
    Other fallers included Daikin Industries Ltd, down
another 2.4 percent after it cut its annual net profit forecast
and its projection for operating profit.
    Japan's corporate earnings results have been disappointing
so far. Out of 138 Nikkei companies that have reported,
two-thirds of them failed to meet market expectations, Thomson
Reuters StarMine data showed. That compares with 34 percent for
S&P 500 companies.
    The weak earnings have not deterred the rally in Japanese
equities, however, boosted by a brightening outlook for the
United States and an injection of 489 billion euros of
three-year loans by the European Central Bank.
    The Nikkei is up 6.3 percent so far this year after shedding
17.3 percent in 2011.