Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a 22-month high on its first trading day of 2013 as a deal in Washington to avert the "fiscal cliff" buoyed sentiment and a weaker yen lifted exporters.
The Nikkei added 2.0 percent to 10,605.94, the highest intraday level since March 2011. The broader Topix gained 2.0 percent to 877.06.
