The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which fell at the open, inched up 0.06 percent or 13.16 points to end at 20,418.81. Over the week, it lost 1.29 percent.

The broader Topix index climbed 0.10 percent or 1.44 points at 1,485.29. Over the week, it fell 1.23 percent.

"Tokyo shares opened lower due to concerns over a sluggish global economy... but they later moved into positive territory, helped by gains in Chinese shares," Yoshihiro Ito, Okasan Online Securities chief strategist, said in a note.

The dollar fetched 106.07 yen in Asian trade, against 106.10 yen in New York and 105.91 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.

In Tokyo share trading, chip makers were among the gainers, with Tokyo Electron jumping 1.97 percent to 18,800 yen.

Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing edged up 0.09 percent to 62,380 yen despite reports that some South Korean consumers were boycotting its products amid a tit-for-tat Tokyo-Seoul trade war linked to historical issues.

Sony fell 0.37 percent to 5,816 yen while IT investor SoftBank Group lost 1.11 percent to 4,897 yen.