Japanese stocks jumped nearly 4% on Tuesday amid reports of progress in containing radiation from an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant, and the yen was broadly softer on the possibility of further intervention by major central banks.
Shares elsewhere in Asia posted modest gains, after bouncing on Monday when Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday.
US stocks rose around 1.5% on Monday, buoyed by AT&T's move to buy Deutsche Telecom.
Oil prices were steady, following a 1% rise in the previous session as widening unrest in the Middle East intensified fears of supply disruptions.
Tokyo's Nikkei share average was up 3.9% in early trade, while Nikkei futures on the Osaka Stock Exchange leapt 3.4%.
The Nikkei remained down around 7% on its close on March 11, the day northeastern Japan was struck by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that left at least 21,000 people dead or missing and crippled a nuclear power plant.
Benchmark 10-year Japanese Government Bond futures fell 0.28 point to 139.46.
The yen traded around 81.20 to the dollar and eased against the euro to around 115.45.
Last week, expectations of massive repatriations to pay for quake reconstruction drove the Japanese currency to a record 76.25 to the dollar before a rare intervention by the Group of Seven rich nations on Friday to curb its appreciation.
US crude oil futures edged up 8 cents to USD 102.41 a barrel and Brent crude rose the same amount to USD 115.04.
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