Share prices in Tokyo closed higher in cautious trade, bolstered by buying support from public sector pension funds ahead of a planned by-election over the weekend, dealers said. The market also saw support on technically-driven short-covering ahead of the release next Wednesday of the government's plan to resolve the banks' bad debt problems, which is now expected to be presented together with a broader anti-deflation package to offset some of feared negative impact on the economy.
On that basis and on the hope that the bad debt plan will be watered down, the banks attracted support, dealers said. All of this left the Nikkei up 111.99 points or 1.30pc at 8,726.29, off a high of 8,758.75 earlier on //www.fxcentre.com