"It was a bit unusual for somebody from such a tiny political party to have this much importance, and with him gone the Kan administration is likely to strengthen its foundation going into the election," said Yamagishi at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

Japan's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. gained 3. 1 percent to 429 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. added 1.4 percent to 2,647 yen.

Japanese glass makers were notable gainers on the last trading day of the week, due to their large exposure to European markets and the rise of the currency.

Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. rose 2.7 percent to 928 yen, while Nippon Sheet Glass added 2.6 percent to 238 yen -- 47 percent of the glass maker's sales are in Europe.

On Friday, some 2.8 billion shares changed hands on the Tokyo exchange's First section, up from Thursday's volume of 1.68 billion, marking the highest volume traded since May 2.

Advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by almost 4 to 1.

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