* Little impact seen from as-expected BOJ tankan
* Worries over yen strength weigh on some exporter shares
* JAL surges after government says it is ready to support it
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average slipped 0.8 percent on Thursday, with exporters such as Kyocera Corp sagging on concerns that the yen's recent strength may eat into their overseas profits.
Little impact was seen from the Bank of Japan's closely watched tankan survey, which showed that Japanese business confidence improved as expected in the three months to September.
Instead, the Nikkei was taking its cues from a dip in U.S. shares the previous day and the yen's recent strength against the dollar, said Toshiyuki Kanayama, a market analyst at Monex Inc.
"The dollar's exchange rate is still below 90 yen, so market players are still wary about that," Kanayama said.
Many Japanese exporters have set their exchange rate assumptions for the dollar around 90-95 yen for the current fiscal year to March.
Bucking the trend was Japan Airlines Corp, which climbed after Japan's prime minister and transport minister said on Wednesday the government was ready to support it, aiming to dispel worries over the viability of the loss-making carrier.
The benchmark Nikkei fell 81.38 points to 10,051.85.
The broader Topix fell 0.8 percent to 902.98.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after a surprising contraction in an index of Midwest business activity, but buying of technology bellwethers like Cisco Systems Inc at the end of a strong quarter limited losses.
A focal point in the near term will be forthcoming U.S. economic indicators including jobs data on Friday, as well as fluctuations in the yen.
The yen stood at 89.78 yen to the dollar on Thursday. The yen hit an eight-month high against the dollar of 88.23 yen on trading platform EBS on Monday.
Kyocera fell 2.2 percent to 8,150 yen. Among other exporters, Advantest fell 4.2 percent to 2,385 yen, Honda Motor dropped 2.2 percent to 2,705 yen and Canon Inc lost 2.5 percent to 3,540 yen.
Kobe Steel rose 3.2 percent to 162 yen after the company on Wednesday raised its operating profit forecast for the business year ending in March to 15 billion yen from 5 billion yen. On a net basis, the steelmaker narrowed its annual loss estimate to 35 billion yen from 45 billion yen. (Editing by Chris Gallagher)