The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.37 percent or 76.79 points to end at 20,593.35 while the broader Topix index inched down 0.08 percent or 1.27 points to 1,498.66.

The benchmark index had shed more than 1,000 points in its four-day losing streak to Wednesday.

Asian equities had tumbled after Beijing allowed the yuan to slide sharply against the dollar following US President Donald Trump's announcement of fresh tariffs on Chinese goods starting next month.

"The Nikkei index grew as the environment outside Japan has calmed down," Okasan Online chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said, referring to Beijing's move to stabilise the yuan after it dropped on Monday.

"The Tokyo shares were also boosted by gains in Chinese shares," he said in a note.

But investors stayed away from active buying with the safe-haven yen remaining strong amid US-China trade tensions, raising worries about Japanese exporters' earnings.

The dollar was changing hands at 106.07 yen against 106.23 yen in New York Wednesday afternoon.

In Tokyo share trading, chipmakers gained with Advantest jumping 3.05 percent to 4,220 yen and Tokyo Electron rising 1.10 percent to 18,370 yen.

Shiseido climbed 2.13 percent to 7,260 yen.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 2.71 percent to 5,047 yen a day after it announced its first-quarter net profit had more than tripled thanks to exceptional gains related to the sale of shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Canon was down 0.33 percent to 2,856 yen and Panasonic was down 0.47 percent to 829 yen.