The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 0.98 percent or 209.91 points to 21,592.53 in early trade, playing catch-up after Monday's market holiday in Japan.

The broader Topix index was up 0.64 percent or 11.10 points to 1,743.07.

US stocks finished solidly higher Monday after ending a bruising week on a benign note Friday.

US stocks have been under pressure since a strong jobs report on February 2 sparked fears the Federal Reserve will accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes to stave off inflation.

But market players were still on guard.

"The Japanese stock market will face large price movements this week too," Okasan Online Securities said in a note.

"The market will likely to get off to a firm start following big gains in US stocks during the long weekend here but it will have some more swings until volatility subdues," it said.

The dollar was trading at 108.76 yen against 108.64 yen in New York on Monday.

Banks were higher, with Mizuho up 0.75 percent at 199.2 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gaining 0.53 percent at 783 yen.

Fujifilm shares fell 1.41 percent to 4,397 yen after media reports that activist investor Carl Icahn was against a proposed takeover of Xerox.

The Japanese technology group announced last month it would combine Fuji Xerox with US giant Xerox, bringing both companies under its umbrella to create what it said was the world's largest "document solutions company" by revenue.