The Nikkei 225 Index ended up a modest 0.03pc at 26,809.37, but settled near its highest since April 1991, while the broader Topix rose 0.07pc to 1,775.25.
Oil prices fell as producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia locked horns over the need to extend record production cuts set in place in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Britain approved Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history.
Spot gold was up 0.3pc at $1,837.30 per ounce at 0822 GMT, having hit its highest since Nov. 23 at $1,843.11. U.S. gold futures were up 0.7pc at $1,843.60.
Russia's rouble dipped 0.3pc after service sector activity shrank for a second straight month in November, while South Africa's rand retreated after private sector activity expanded at a slower place.
OPEC+ sources have said Russia, Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates have all to a certain extent expressed interest in supplying the market with more oil in 2021.
President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities on Wednesday to begin mass voluntary vaccinations against COVID-19 next week as Russia recorded 589 new daily deaths from the coronavirus.
Italy was the first Western country hit by the virus, registering 56,361 COVID-19 deaths since the outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain's.
Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use, saying it would start rolling it out early next week.
In Tokyo, automakers were higher with Toyota climbing 0.86 percent to 7,079 yen, Honda jumping 5.08 percent to 3,047 yen and Nissan growing 1.80 percent to 513.1 yen.
