Matsushita Electric Industrial (NYSE:MC - news), the world's biggest consumer electronics maker under the Panasonic brand, also rose 2.2 per cent to Y2,555.

Matsushita's share price may also have been affected by reports that talks with private equity firm Texas Pacific Group over the sale of its subsidiary JVC had broken down, but that talks with Kenwood, the electronics maker, over JVC had begun again. Kenwood was up 2 per cent to Y206, though JVC plunged 12.1 per cent to Y434.