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Tokyo: Tokyo stocks rose on Tuesday, taking a positive lead from gains on Wall Street, while a weaker yen lifted exporters.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.70 percent, or 154.72 points, to close at 22,416.48. The broader Topix index was up 0.65 percent, or 11.48 points, at 1,771.13.
"The yen's stability on the current levels is a favourable factor," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
"Bargain-hunting is emerging following the recent declines, but the Nikkei's full recovery is unlikely before Thanksgiving holidays," Horiuchi told AFP.
Wall Street stocks finished higher Monday in a positive start to the holiday-shortened Thanksgiving week.
US stocks have been under pressure the past two weeks on worries about the prospects for tax cuts in Washington and anxiety about high equity valuations.
But analysts said dealers are feeling upbeat after a run of mostly good data.
Investors "bought back shares thanks to a positive environment", said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.
"But there is a sense of caution towards North Korean risk after US President Donald Trump redesignated the North as a state sponsor of terror," he said.
Trump promised Monday a rapid ramp-up of US sanctions against Pyongyang after adding its name to a terror blacklist.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan "welcomes and supports the US relisting of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism as it strengthens pressure on North Korea".
The dollar bought 112.57 yen Tuesday afternoon, slightly down from 112.64 yen in New York but well up from 112.01 yen in Tokyo Monday.
A weaker yen makes exporters' products more competitive abroad and inflates their repatriated profits.
In share trading, Toyota jumped 1.39 percent to 7,028 yen while Nissan gained 0.37 percent to 1,071.5 yen but Sony fell 0.59 percent to 5,217 yen.
Toshiba, which unveiled plans on Sunday to issue new shares to raise a total of 600 billion yen, was up 5.45 percent at 290 yen.
Uniqlo chain operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, rose 0.49 percent to 40,390 yen, while SoftBank gained 0.72 percent to 9,538 yen.
