Nikkei at above 10,000 on yen but gains limited

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose above 10,000 for the first time in five weeks on Friday as exporters such as Canon Inc climbed on a weaker yen, though gains in the benchmark were limited following sharp rallies.

Takefuji Corp tumbled 9.6 percent after the Asahi newspaper reported that the struggling consumer finance firm has significantly scaled back lending to preserve cash as it faces difficulty raising funds.

"A short-cover rally, supported by foreign investors who were relieved to see Japan's economic measures, may have come to an end," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

"For further gains, investors need to see more clarity about Japan's economic policies, along with U.S. jobs data that could still surprise the market."

Hirano said a majority of foreign investors had previously appeared to want to sell Japanese stocks because Japan had fallen into deflation when almost everywhere else was in inflation, partly triggered by economic measures to provide liquidity.

In active trade the Nikkei rose 0.3 percent to 10,005.00, after starting the day at 10,019.24, its highest since October 30. It jumped 3.8 percent the previous day.

But it spent most of the morning dipping in and out of negative territory.

The broader Topix inched up 0.1 percent to 889.11.

(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Michael Watson)