Nokia Oyj, the world''s biggest handset maker by volume, said its Vertu luxury phone unit is withdrawing from Japan.

Vertu said in a statement on Wednesday that it was "withdrawing from the Japanese market" in order to focus better on priority businesses. It expressed gratitude towards its business partners and said that its Tokyo office will be closed by the end of this year, but promised to continue to do work with Japanese craftsmen in its business elsewhere.

Vertu, based in Church Crookham, U.K., makes small volumes of mobile phones using precious metals and gemstones, typically with 12-key keypads rather than touchscreens or Qwerty keyboards. It has a Ginza flagship store and another store in Tokyo under its own name, and sells products in more than 50 countries, according to its website.