The Nikkei ended 0.25% higher at 28,309.16, after touching a high of 28,398.27 earlier in the session, a level last seen on Dec. 1.
The broader Topix added 0.42% to close at 2,044.98,
after hitting 2,046.11, its highest level since November 2021.
"Until Monday, after we've seen the market reaction to the
U.S. jobs report, the focus will be on U.S. long-term yields,"
said Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
Following a 4.5% surge over the past eight sessions, the
Nikkei "seems a little bit heavy here," said Kamitani, who
expects the index could tick lower over the rest of the week.
The 10-year Treasury yield more than erased
overnight gains to trade around 3.95% in Tokyo, moving away from
last week's multi-month high of 4.091%.
Recent suggestions from Fed officials have been that further
rate increases will be gradual, including at next week's policy
meeting.
"The equity market has been recovering since last week, and
that reflects some relief among market participants about the
path for U.S. monetary policy," said Masayuki Kichikawa, chief
macro economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.
Of the Nikkei's 225 components, 151 rose, 66 fell and eight
traded flat.
Energy was the best performing sector, up 2.05%, as crude
oil prices continued to edge higher amid hopes for China's
economic recovery.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
and Rashmi Aich)
