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Japanese stocks rose to two-week highs on Friday in choppy trade ahead of the approaching fiscal year-end, while Yahoo Japan Corp dived on questions over strategy following news it will buy mobile network operator eAccess from SoftBank Corp.
Gains in Asian markets helped the Nikkei share average end 0.5% higher at 14,696.03, the best close since March 13. But trade was choppy, with the index falling to as low as 14,520.57 earlier. For the week, the index rose 3.3%.
The broader Topix added 0.8% to 1,186.52, while the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 advanced 0.8% to 10,740.32.
