TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.8 percent on Thursday, lifted by short-covering after successful bond auctions in Portugal and Poland helped ease worries about Europe's debt problems.
But the strength of the yen, which stayed within sight of a 15-year high versus the dollar touched on Wednesday, weighed on investor confidence.
The benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.8 percent or 73.79 points at 9,098.39, pulling away from a 16-month low of 8,796.45 hit on Sept. 1.
The broader Topix rose 0.7 percent to 826.84. (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Chris Gallagher)