Japan stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Communication, Paper & Pulp and Transport sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.60% to hit a new 52-week high.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857), which rose 7.99% or 1,060.00 points to trade at 14,320.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Sony Corp (TYO:6758) added 6.40% or 825.00 points to end at 13,720.00 and Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TYO:8035) was up 5.45% or 950.00 points to 18,370.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TYO:9501), which fell 4.75% or 24.00 points to trade at 481.00 at the close. CyberAgent Inc (TYO:4751) declined 3.16% or 37.00 points to end at 1,135.00 and Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (TYO:3863) was down 2.84% or 33.00 points to 1,130.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1920 to 1680 and 251 ended unchanged.

Shares in Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) rose to all time highs; rising 7.99% or 1,060.00 to 14,320.00. Shares in Sony Corp (TYO:6758) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 6.40% or 825.00 to 13,720.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was up 3.13% to 17.78 a new 1-month high.

Crude oil for June delivery was down 0.45% or 0.33 to $72.50 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in July fell 0.42% or 0.32 to hit $76.64 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract fell 0.25% or 5.05 to trade at $1,979.85 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was down 0.04% to 137.63, while EUR/JPY fell 0.20% to 148.94.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 102.88.