Tokyo shares opened higher Tuesday on growing hopes that Washington would avert a default, which helped push Wall Street shares higher.
The Nikkei index rose 0.77 percent, or 229.28 points, to 29,855.62 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.46 percent, or 9.77 points, to 2,124.62.
The dollar stood at 135.97 yen, staying firm and little changed from 136.10 yen on Monday in New York.
“The Tokyo market was expected to start on an upbeat note, after gains of New York shares,” brokerage house Monex said in a note.
Speculation that Washington would eventually reach a deal on raising the debt ceiling supported the global market, Monex added.
US President Joe Biden has voiced optimism on reaching an agreement, though Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he thinks they remain “far apart.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated that a US default is possible as soon as June 1.
McCarthy said this weekend would be key, though Biden is slated to travel to Japan for the G7 summit before visiting Papua New Guinea and Australia.
“It has been reported that Biden will want significant progress made in the debt limit talks before he leaves to avoid criticism of him traveling ahead of a potential debt limit breach,” said Tapas Strickland of National Australia Bank.
Participants will also digest fresh Chinese indicators including production and retail sales along with fresh US retail sales data, all due later in the day, he added.
Among major Tokyo shares, semiconductor-related issues roared.
Advantest, which makes chip-testing systems, soared 4.04 percent to 12,630 yen. Tokyo Electron, producers of tools to build semiconductors, jumped 3.77 percent to 16,785.
Nintendo added 0.83 percent to 5,848 yen. SoftBank Group rose 1.62 percent to 5,030 yen. Heavily weighted Fast Retailing, operator of the Uniqlo brand, firmed 1.16 percent to 32,320 yen.
Toyota gave up earlier gains and fell 0.54 percent to 1,922.5 yen. Sony Group dropped 0.54 percent to 12,805.