The Japanese stock exchange started the last full week of trading in August with a small profit on Monday.
Investors pulled themselves to Friday’s new record levels of Wall Street and kept an eye on developments around the coronavirus.
Worldwide, the death toll from the coronavirus has now risen to more than 800,000, with more than 23 million corona infections.
The main index in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225, ended 0.3 percent in the plus at 22,985.51 points. The Japanese manufacturer of computer games Nintendo continued its advance and was again in the leading group with a price gain of almost 5 percent.
Chemicals concern Nissan Chemical and life insurer Dai-ichi Life Holdings were also in demand, rising 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent.
The other major stock market indicators in the Asian region also gained ground. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was a positive outlier with a gain of 1.4 percent.
Tencent climbed 4 percent in Hong Kong after reports that the US ban on the Chinese internet company’s popular app WeChat will not be as strict as feared.
The Kospi in Seoul thickened 0.7 percent and the stock exchange in Shanghai was 0.3 percent higher. The Australian All Ordinaries in Sydney won 0.2 percent.