Japanese shares registered a rise on Wednesday but the advance was tempered by a slump in Toyota's stock amidst concerns about new quality problems in the U. S. and Japan involving its popular Prius hybrid.

"While the Nikkei index managed to end higher, its gains were limited due to the latest Toyota problems", said Kazuhiro Takahashi, market analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd.

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday swung to its quarterly profit that surpassed analysts' estimates and cited it'll register a profit for its full fiscal year despite a massive auto recall in the current quarter.

The auto maker giant reported its sales, posting a net profit of 153.2 billion yen ($1.68 billion) in the three months through December. For the same quarter a year ago, it reported a net loss of 164.64 billion yen.

Toyota has been inundated with over 100 complaints in the U. S. and Japan about brake problems with the Prius hybrid -- the latest quality woes afflicting the world's largest automaker as it grapples with massive global recalls.

Toyota's rival Honda Motor Co. climbed 2.3 percent to 3,140 yen. After the market close, Honda said its profit for the fiscal third quarter rose six fold compared from the previous year to 134.6 billion yen ($1.49 billion).