Tokyo stocks jumped 1.14 percent on Wednesday morning thanks to a further weakening of the yen and receding concerns over Europe's sovereign debt problems.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 124.05 points at 10,990.77 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares rose 0.87 percent, or 7.99 points, to 928.75.
"Europe's problems have eased quite a bit," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at investment at Okasan Securities.
He pointed to data Tuesday showing net lending by Europe's central banks to credit institutions had fallen, the latest sign of easing tensions in the financial system.
The data showed the size of the balance sheet of the Eurosystem, consisting of the European Central Bank and the 17 eurozone national central banks, has fallen to its lowest level in almost a year.
"The global economy is in a trend of improving. A shift to stocks from bonds is likely to take place," Ishiguro said.
On Wall Street the Dow provided a solid lead as it climbed to within just 1.5 percent of its all-time closing high seen in October 2007.
In Tokyo forex trade, the dollar changed hands at 90.97 yen, against 90.72 yen in New York on Tuesday.
The euro was at 122.70 yen and $1.3488 against 122.42 yen and $1.3493 in US trade.
-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this article --
