TOKYO: Japanese shares rose 0.93 percent by the break Tuesday, helped by a weaker yen and expectations of further monetary easing by the Japanese and US central banks.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended the morning session up 91.86 points at 9,981.72.
The Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.68 percent, or 5.73 points, to 851.01.
Tokyo shares were supported by a weaker yen and speculation the Bank of Japan's easing stance will remain intact, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities.
Last month, Japan's central bank said it would expand its monetary easing programme by 10 trillion yen ($122 billion) to 65 trillion yen by buying assets, such as bonds, from banks.
The measure was designed to pump more money into the economy in a bid to safeguard the nation's fragile growth and tame the yen's surging value, which hurts Japan's exporters.
The Japanese central bank finishes its two-day policy meeting later Tuesday, with economists focusing on comments from BoJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa.
"It's up to Mr Shirakawa's comments," he said, referring to a post-meeting press conference.
"Him suggesting a continuous easing stance would likely stoke expectations for a weaker yen, and lead to further gains in stocks," Nakanishi said.
Matsui Securities market analyst Tomoichiro Kubota said investors were scooping up shares on hopes of further easing measures after the BoJ and US Federal Reserve policy meetings Tuesday.
Adding to the positive mood, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday that the remainder of a multi-billion-euro package of loans from eurozone governments under a second Greek bailout will be signed off this week.
Greece late last week secured a debt write-down from its private investors, which slashed more than 100 billion euros from its huge debt mountain.
The yen was at 82.21 against the dollar and 108.36 against the euro at midday in Tokyo, compared with 82.32 and 108.22 a day earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 percent on Monday to close at 12,959.71.
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