Tokyo shares gained ground Thursday tracking the strong U.S. stocks overnight following release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve's policy meeting, though rise was capped by the yen's firmness against the U.S. dollar.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 70.15 points, or 0.36 percent, from Wednesday at 19,813.13. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 3.31 points, or 0.21 percent, higher at 1,578.42.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's May policy meeting minutes released Wednesday showed that most Federal Reserve officials see it appropriate to raise interest rate soon if economy continues to improve. The officials also discussed plans to reduce the U.S. central bank's 4.5-trillion-U.S. dollar balance sheet.

U.S. stocks extended gains on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 posting a new closing record, as Wall Street meditated on the Federal Reserve's minutes.

Tokyo shares opened flat, with market confidence boosted by the upbeat U.S. stocks overnight, while export-related issues were weighed down by the yen's firmness against the U.S. dollar.

Gains were extended later, notably with issues related to domestic consumption, as market players were in a buying mood on expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike in near terms.

Automobile and electric machinery issues rallied in the afternoon as the U.S. dollar to Japanese yen exchange rate turned stable and shares in major Asian markets advanced on optimism over a strong U.S. economy.

Trading volume on the main section on Thursday came to 1,677.27 million shares, dropping from Wednesday's volume of 1,728.23 million shares.

The day's turnover was around 2,221.3 billion yen (19.90 billion U.S. dollars).

Gainers were led by electric power and gas, information and communication, and marine transportation issues, while decliners were led by mining and steel industry issues.

Among all shares listed on the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,039 to 817 with 160 ending the day unchanged.