Tokyo stocks opened up 1.58% today after Wall Street made fresh gains on hopes that EU leaders were close to agreement on how to deal with the Euro zone sovereign debt crisis.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 132.58 points to 8,515.56 in about 20 minutes from the opening bell.
The Topix of all first section shares rose 1.42% or 10.30 points to 736.55.
The Nikkei was buoyant after a rebound in crude and precious metal prices overnight, said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities.
The Japanese bourse was also lifted by a strong showing on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 131.24 (1.21%) to 10,939.95.
The broader S&P 500 added 20.08 (1.79 per cent) to 1,144.03, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 55.69 (2.32 per cent) to 2,460.51.
European markets enjoyed strong gains on expectations that European nations will support their banks to prevent the eurozone debt crisis from spreading.
Germany called on its EU partners to recapitalise the banking sector.
Segawa said the proposal was "somewhat reassuring" as it was "looking increasingly impossible to avoid a Greek debt default".
Faced with liquidity strains, Franco-Belgian bank Dexia is considering selling all of its core operations as part of a deep makeover that could lead to a dismantling of the bank. (AFP)