TOKYO: Tokyo stocks rose 0.52 percent on Friday after fresh record highs on Wall Street and as the weak yen boosted exporters.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 87.90 points to finish at 16,880.38, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 0.54 percent, or 7.32 points, to 1,363.67.
Japanese traders resumed their rally after Thursday's profit-taking, which marked the first loss after a five-session run that saw the Nikkei tack on more than 10 percent.
Analysts said the market still had energy after last Friday's surprise announcement from the Bank of Japan that it would ramp up its bond-buying stimulus scheme -- known as quantitative easing (QE) -- which effectively prints cash.
The news has sent the yen tumbling. On Friday, the dollar bought 115.34 yen, up from 115.16 yen in New York and sharply higher than around 109 yen before the BoJ move.
A weak yen is positive for Japanese exporters as it makes them more competitive abroad and inflates profits when repatriated.
"The Bank of Japan's aggressive quantitative easing... is likely to continue to influence the market via currency level fluctuations -- mostly to the upside," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"It's likely that the fallout effect will continue through mid-December, keeping stock prices relatively well-supported," Miura told Dow Jones Newswires.
In share trade Toyota edged up 0.07 percent to 6,817.0 yen, Sony rose 1.21 percent to 2,258.0 yen and Canon gained 0.63 percent to 3,554.0 yen.
Takata tumbled 7.26 percent to 1,416 yen a day after the auto parts maker warned of a bigger-than-expected annual loss.
The firm, whose shares have lost more than half their value since the start of the year, has been plunged into crisis by an airbag defect was linked to at least four deaths in the US, drawing lawsuits and regulatory probes.
Wall Street provided a strong lead ahead of the release later Friday of closely watched October jobs data, with expectations for a healthy gain. (AFP)
