Japanese stocks rose sharply Friday, mirroring a surge on Wall Street that was driven by US President Donald Trump's promise to release details soon about tax-cut plans aimed at boosting the world's top economy. US and European equities rallied with the dollar after Trump said at a meeting with airline executives that he would unveil his blueprint in the coming weeks.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.49 percent, or 471.26 points, to 19,378.93, helping it put on 2.44 percent over the week.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues rose 2.18 percent, or 33.01 points, to close at 1,546.56, with a weekly gain of 2.08 percent.
"In the end, policies pushed forward by Trump, including tax cuts and infrastructure investment, should be positive for Japanese companies," said Nobuyuki Fujimoto, a senior market analyst at SBI Securities.
"If a tax structure that focuses on labour creation emerges in the US, wages should rise as America approaches full employment, and a gradually stronger dollar will be positive for Japanese businesses," he told Bloomberg News.
Investors are keeping a close eye on weekend meetings in the US between protectionist-leaning Trump and Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, who wants to cement ties and underscore Tokyo's commitment to US jobs.
Monday see the release of fourth-quarter Japanese growth data, with experts tipping modest expansion after a 0.3 percent increase in July-September.
On Friday, carmakers rallied on a drop in the yen, which boosts profitability.
The dollar bought 113.74 yen, up from 113.22 yen in New York and 112.00 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.
Toyota rose 3.05 percent to 6,446 yen, Honda added 2.88 percent to 3,605 yen, and Nissan rose 1.44 yen to 1,125.5 yen.
Toshiba surged 5.49 percent to 237.9 yen as investors brace for Tuesday's earnings announcement when the firm is expected to unveil losses in its US nuclear power unit that reportedly could top $6 billion.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed 3.25 percent to 764.1 yen and brokerage Nomura gained 2.79 percent to 762.3 yen.
Takata rose 2.43 percent to 463 yen despite warning of big losses linked to its exploding airbag scandal.
After markets closed, Takata said it expected to book a net loss of 64 billion yen in the fiscal year to March, reversing earlier expectations for a small profit. Last month Takata agreed to plead guilty to fraud and pay $1 billion to settle the airbag defect issue with US regulators, but that is not likely the end of its financial liabilities.
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