Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Japanese shares rose for the 10th consecutive session on Thursday, marking its longest rally for more than a quarter of a century.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.4% at 20,551.46, and has now chalked up its longest winning streak since a 13-day run in February 1988, reports BBC.
Investor confidence was boosted by retail sales data rebounding in April.
Figures showed that retail sales rose 5% from a year ago, reversing three months of falls.
The Nikkei index has gained 5% during the 10-day run.
Shares of Honda were up 1.7% despite the automaker expanding its recall of cars in Japan over airbag inflators made by Takata to 340,000. Honda had already recalled millions of cars earlier this month.
CHINA LEADS LOSSES
Chinese shares fell sharply after a number of brokerages tightened lending requirements on margin financing and investors prepared for another wave of initial public listings next week.
Analysts estimate that the new listings could freeze up about 5tn yuan ($807bn; £523bn) of liquidity.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 2% at 27,504.37, while the Shanghai Composite fell 3.8% to 4,757.6.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.2% lower at 5,713.10 after data showed that business investment in the first quarter of 2015 saw the biggest fall for more than six years.
Investment fell 4.4% in the quarter, compared with forecasts of a 2.4% drop.
South Korean shares recovered from heavy falls earlier in the session, with the benchmark Kospi index closing up 0.2% at 2,117.77.