Japanese shares rose at the close Monday, July 4, with the support of utilities companies as the country continues to face an unprecedented heat wave.
Overall, investor sentiment remained low on widespread fears of a global economic slowdown, with trading slowing ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on Monday.
The Nikkei index rose at the close by 0.84% to 26153.81 points, after it briefly declined below the psychological level of 26000 points in the morning session.
The broader Topix index rose 1.34% to 1869.71 points.
The Nikkei recorded a weekly loss of 3.01% on Friday, while the Topix fell 2.08%.
The utilities sector rose 4.1%, making it the best performing sector within the Nikkei index, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. up 12.95%.
Mitsubishi shares rose 3.98% after falling 5.21% last week.
And shares of SoftBank Group, the technology giant, increased by 2.9%, after recording a weekly decline of more than 6%.