TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei average inched higher in early trade on Thursday, retracing some of the previous session's sharp fall, a s US stocks erased losses to end flat to higher, although investors remained wary of a messy Greek exit from the euro zone.

The Nikkei was up 0.2 per cent at 8,571.77, while the broader Topix index added 0.1 per cent to 722.46.