TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is trading slightly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Monday ahead of the holiday on Tuesday. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent, while Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent. In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Wednesday.