Japanese stocks rose in choppy trade on Wednesday, snapping a four-day losing streak thanks to short-covering, while coming central bank meetings and worries that Britain might vote to leave the European Union kept investors on edge.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.4 per cent higher at 15,919.58 after trading in negative territory in the morning.
The broader Topix rose 0.4 per cent to 1,277.11 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 0.4 per cent to 11,510.18.
Investors await the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting later in the day, and a Bank of Japan review on Thursday, from which no change is expected.