Tokyo shares ended higher on Monday as sentiment here was lifted by gains on Wall Street last weekend and a weaker yen.
U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed after a fluctuating session Thursday amid renewed worries over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
South Korean shares ended slightly lower Wednesday as the Japanese yen's continued fall to the local currency fueled worries about price competitiveness of local export companies.
The U.S. dollar continued rising against most major currencies Tuesday as data of U.S. manufactured durable goods and consumer confidence beat expectations.
Tokyo stocks dropped 0.59 percent Tuesday as market sentiment was cooled by the yen's appreciation and profit-taking after recent rallies.
The Japanese government consulted with relevant officials in the U.S. government regarding the conclusion of talks held between Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Stockholm last month, local media reported Wednesday.
A black-rind Densuke watermelon, grown only in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, was sold for 350,000 yen (about 3,418.9 U.S. dollars) on Tuesday in the first auction of the fruit at produce markets in Asahikawa and Sapporo in Hokkaido.
Ten more people have been asked to present written accounts to serve the investigation of a bribery allegations relating to the capital Hanoi's urban railway construction project Line 1.
Sony Corp. announced Thursday it had revised its full year forecast for the year through March to a group net loss of 110 billion yen (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) from a profit of 30 billion yen, owing to sluggish sales of its televisions and personal computers.
Tokyo stocks lost ground for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as the yen advanced a little which disappointed the market's sentiment and a dismal overnight performance in the U.S. market also spurred the downside.
Tokyo stocks ended with a sharp surge Monday as market sentiment was boosted by a further depreciated yen and a strong rebound on Wall Street on Friday following better- than-expected U.S. jobs data for November.
The Japanese central bank returned to black in the period from April to September for the first time in five years on a half-year basis, with a net profit of 400.62 billion yen, according to local media on Wednesday.
Japan's current account surplus increased in the first half of fiscal 2013, up for the first time in six half-year periods, as trade deficit was overweighed by the growth in direct investment income, local media reported Monday.
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday order the U.S. Apple Inc. to pay 330 million yen (about 3. 35 million U.S. dollars) in damages to Japanese inventor Norihiko Saito over patent infringement involving iPod music player, according to local media.
The Japanese government said Thursday that the country's good trade deficit stood at 960.3 billion yen (about 9.8 billion U.S. dollars) in August, mainly due to the yen's slide and growing demand for energy.
Japanese workers' minimum wages will increase 15 yen on a yearly basis to 764 yen per hour after revised wage tariffs take effect in the country's 47 prefectures in October, local media reported Wednesday.
Tokyo stocks tumbled more than 5 percent on Thursday as nervous investors dumped a broad range of issues following a Wall Street-triggered yen rise.