Most Asian stock markets are closed Thursday, for the Christmas holidays.
Tokyo's Nikkei index rose 82 points, nearly one percent, to finish at 8,599. Share prices closed lower in Shanghai and Taipei, but ended higher in Bangkok.
Markets are closed in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Sydney and Wellington.
In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 90.41 yen, down 0.5 yen from Wednesday.
Some information for this report was provided by Bloomberg.
