Japanese rubber futures slid on Monday on worries that spreading Omicron coronavirus cases in Japan will slow economic activities and that a weak economic expansion in top buyer China will dent demand for the material. The Osaka Exchange rubber contract for June delivery , was down 4.5 yen, or 1.8%, at 242.0 yen ($2.1) per kg as of 0237 GMT. The rubber contract on the Shanghai futures exchange for May delivery was down 160 yuan, or 1.1%, at 14,850 yuan ($2,337) per tonne on Monday. Japan"s government has started discussions to impose a quasi-state of emergency on the capital Tokyo and its surrounding areas within the week, broadcaster FNN said on Monday, as COVID-19 cases surge. New cases nationwide have exceeded 25,000 in the past two days, near record levels. read more China"s economy grew 4.0% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, faster than expected but its weakest expansion in one-and-half years, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday. read more China"s import of natural and synthetic rubber fell 11% in December from a year earlier. Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2.2% from a week earlier, the exchange said on Friday. The front-month rubber contract on Singapore Exchange"s SICOM platform for February delivery last traded at 178.2 U.S. cents per kg, down 1.7%. TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - ($1 = 114.4000 yen) ($1 = 6.3553 Chinese yuan renminbi)