Japanese shares slipped from near 17-month highs on Friday, as a slightly stronger yen triggered selling in futures markets, while investors focused on a slew of corporate earnings such as from automaker Nissan on a surprise hike in dividend.

The Nikkei share average dropped 0.4 per cent to 19,883.90. The index gained 2.3 per cent for the week, racking up its fourth week of gains helped by easing worries over European politics and tensions in the Korean peninsula.

The broader Topix dropped 0.4 per cent to 1,580.71.

The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.4 per cent to 14,111.69.

Bucking the trend, Nissan Motor surged 3.0 per cent on its plan to hike dividends although it forecast an unexpected fall in profits and its guidance was lower than analyst expectations.