Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 80.92 points, or 0.21 percent, from Thursday at 39,523.55.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 12.68 points, or 0.46 percent, higher at 2,759.64.
Stocks were buoyed by buying of high-tech issues following a record high on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index overnight. But the Nikkei benchmark trimmed gains after the U.S. dollar continued to climb in the afternoon in Tokyo, hitting a fresh 34-year high of 153.38, fueling speculation that Japanese authorities will intervene to counter volatile yen moves, analysts said.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Friday that the government is keeping tabs on factors driving the yen's fall relative to the U.S. dollar and will respond as appropriate to excessive volatility without ruling out any options.
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