Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday as investors took heart from US rallies, with few other market-moving events.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.76 percent or 174.76 points to 23,055.38 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.68 percent or 10.82 points at 1,610.02.
"Japanese shares are seen supported by rallies in the Nasdaq," Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst of Monex, said in a commentary.
But trade was rangebound with a lack of fresh cues, analysts said.
The dollar fetched 105.67 yen in early Asian trade, against 105.75 yen in New York.
Wall Street shares rallied on Thursday shrugging off weak labour data, with the tech-rich Nasdaq rocketing to fresh records.
Among major shares in Tokyo, game giant Nintendo was up 2.21 percent at 54,480 yen and Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 1.30 percent at 61,430 yen, but Sony was down 0.60 percent at 8,304 yen.
Japan's core consumer price index in July was flat year-on-year, as in June, and after a 0.2-percent decline in May, according to the internal affairs ministry data published before the opening bell.