Japan stocks rise on Wall Street rally, G20 hopes

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 223.75 points, or 2.7 percent, to 8,462.39 for its first gain in four days. The broader Topix index added 1.1 percent to 846.91.

Cosmo Securities equity strategist Toshikazu Horiuchi credited the brighter mood to improvements in external factors.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up nearly 553 points--the third-largest point gain on record for a single session.

The dollar regained some muscle against the Japanese currency, after falling to 95.54 yen Thursday afternoon in Asia. The greenback was trading at 97.20 yen Friday.

The market also awaited the outcome of a summit in Washington, which will bring together leaders from 20 of the biggest developed and developing economies to discuss ways to tackle the global financial crisis.

"Obviously, the meeting isn't expected to produce everything," Horiuchi said. "So the key going forward is to see what other measures to support the economy are proposed and how they are implemented."

Most exporter shares benefited from the softer yen. Honda Motor Co. rose 3.2 percent to 2,110 yen, Nintendo Co. jumped 5.8 percent to 30,200 yen, and Sony Corp. closed up 3.8 percent at 2,075 yen.

Among losers, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. fell 4.6 percent to 242,900 yen after reporting Thursday that its first half profit nose-dived 71 percent due to fallout from the global financial crisis.