Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Marine Transport, Transportation Equipment and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.90% to hit a new 52-week high.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Kobe Steel, Ltd. (TYO:5406), which rose 11.96% or 122.00 points to trade at 1,142.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (TYO:8830) added 8.08% or 252.00 points to end at 3,372.00 and Sapporo Holdings Ltd. (TYO:2501) was up 6.74% or 250.00 points to 3,960.00 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Casio Computer Co., Ltd. (TYO:6952), which fell 6.36% or 85.00 points to trade at 1,252.00 at the close. Trend Micro Inc. (TYO:4704) declined 4.05% or 270.00 points to end at 6,390.00 and Tosoh Corp. (TYO:4042) was down 3.89% or 69.00 points to 1,705.00.

Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1869 to 1749 and 221 ended unchanged.

Shares in Kobe Steel, Ltd. (TYO:5406) rose to 3-years highs; rising 11.96% or 122.00 to 1,142.00. Shares in Sapporo Holdings Ltd. (TYO:2501) rose to 5-year highs; rising 6.74% or 250.00 to 3,960.00.

The Nikkei Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, was down 2.92% to 15.62.

Crude oil for June delivery was down 0.41% or 0.29 to $70.58 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in July fell 0.49% or 0.37 to hit $74.61 a barrel, while the June Gold Futures contract fell 0.19% or 3.90 to trade at $2,016.60 a troy ounce.

USD/JPY was up 0.25% to 134.88, while EUR/JPY rose 0.38% to 147.40.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 101.81.