TOKYO, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher as the Japanese yen decreased to a fresh 20-year low against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, briefly trading near the 133 yen line.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed up 28.06 points, or 0.10 percent, from Monday at 27,943.95, reaching its highest level since March 30.
The broader Topix index, on the other hand, closed 7.92 points, or 0.41 percent, higher at 1,947.03.
On the top-tier Prime Market, gainers were led by food, pharmaceutical, and information and communication issues.
The benchmark Nikkei briefly increased above the 28,000 mark for the first time in more than two months, boosted by export-related shares that were bought on the yen's weakness.
However, the index trimmed gains toward the end of trading as investor confidence was dented by a fall in U.S. stock futures, according to brokers.
Among exporters, shares of automakers gained significantly, with Nissan Motor rising 2.6 percent. Honda Motor increased 2.5 percent, and Mitsubishi Motors went up 3.2 percent.
A weaker yen boosts exporters' profits earned overseas when repatriated.
Among Prime Market issues, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 1,031 to 728, while 79 finished the day unchanged.
Trading volume on the Prime Market rose to 1,174.58 million shares compared to Monday's 1,001.82 million.
The Japanese yen plunged to around 132.97 against the dollar during the afternoon trading in Tokyo, hitting the lowest level since April 2002, with market participants expecting that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive monetary tightening.
The yen renewed its drop after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday the central bank will stick to its powerful monetary easing to realize its 2-percent inflation goal in a sustainable way.
He reiterated the stand in parliament Tuesday morning after the yen briefly plunged to around the 132 line in New York.
The Fed is expected to announce another interest rate hike following its two-day policy meeting from June 14. The Japanese central bank decided to conduct key interest rate hikes during its meeting in March and May to address high inflation in the United States.
"We are paying close attention to developments in the foreign exchange market and their impact on the Japanese economy," Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters on Tuesday.
A weaker yen has already led to higher import costs that have subsequently raised the prices of energy and many other products. ■