Japanese stocks ended marginally higher on Wednesday, with markets largely shrugging off BOJ minutes that signaled policymakers remain biased toward further rate increases amid inflation risks from yen weakness and labour shortages.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.05%, or 25.17 points, to close at 53,358.71.

BOJ policymakers signaled they are open to further rate increases after December's move to a 30-year high of 0.75%, with the timing dependent on economic conditions and inflation projections being met, minutes showed.

Some board members urged caution, while others said inflation was becoming more persistent as companies pass on higher wage and input costs.

Members also flagged yen weakness as a key inflation risk via higher import prices, with one arguing the policy rate may be too low relative to inflation and that timely hikes could curb future inflation and cap long-term yields.

On the corporate front, Genky DrugStores (TYO:9267), which slid 4%, said January all-store sales rose 5.7% year on year, while existing-store sales fell 1.4%. Existing-store traffic edged up 0.1% and spending per customer slipped 1.5%. Store count stood at 500 after one opening.

Ito En (TYO:2593), which fell 7%, cut its FY2025 profit forecast to 1 billion yen from 16 billion yen after booking a 13.6 billion yen impairment loss in its vending machine business. It slightly raised its sales outlook to 495 billion yen and plans to spin off the vending machine unit into wholly owned subsidiary NEOS effective May 1.

Osaki Electric (TYO:6644), which ended 7% higher, said it will record an extraordinary loss of 2.04 billion yen in the fiscal third quarter ended December 2025 as it exits its smart meter business in the Middle East and Africa.