Japanese stocks ended at a near three-month high on Thursday as the weak-yen trend supported the mood, but gains were limited as investors took a breather from recent sharp gains ahead of key events such as a US jobs report on Friday.
The Nikkei ended 0.1 percent higher at 15,079.37, the highest closing level since March 11.
But beer maker Sapporo Holdings Ltd tumbled 6.6 percent after saying that it may have to pay an additional 11.6 billion yen ($113 million) in liquor taxes.
The broader Topix dropped 0.1 percent to 1,232.75, while the new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 shed 0.1 percent to 11,237.89.