Asian stocks rose on Friday in a relatively quiet session as several markets in the region were shut, while traders looked ahead to next week's key central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan.
Markets in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for public holidays.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo regained 114.28 points, or 0.7%, to close the week at 16,519.29
Major banking stocks in Japan, which came under pressure earlier this week when a local media report appeared to have suggested the Bank of Japan could cut rates further into negative territory, gained more than 1% each.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ were up 2.7% at 511.2 yen ($5.01 U.S.), SMFG added 2.2% to 3,420 yen and Mizuho Financial was higher by 1.7% to 173.4 yen.
Australian markets climbed, with most sectors climbing. The energy sector finished up 1.2%, boosted likely by overnight strength in oil prices, while the heavily-weighted financials sub-index added 1.1%
The U.S. dollar moved little against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index at 95.344 Friday afternoon, slightly lower than the 95.499 level it traded at on Thursday afternoon Asia time.
The Japanese yen was at 101.95 U.S. on Friday afternoon local time, compared to its last close at 102.09. The Australian dollar traded at $0.7509 U.S., slipping from an earlier high of $0.7526, while the euro traded at $1.1235 U.S., compared to its previous close at $1.1241.
In other markets
The Straits Times Index in Singapore regained 21.93 points, or 0.8%, to 2,827.45
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 tacked on 54.27 points, or 0.8%, to 7,250.52
The ASX 200 added 56.84 points, or 1.1%, to 5,296.70
