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Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rose 1.25% in the morning session on Friday, following a rally on European markets after the eurozone and British central banks signalled their easy-money policies would remain in place.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 175.46 points to 14 194.39 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.93%, or 10.90 points, to 1 181.61.
With the US market closed on Thursday for the Independence Day public holiday, Asia took its lead from Europe, where stocks jumped after the European Central Bank indicated that rates would stay at low levels for the foreseeable future.
ECB chief Mario Draghi said his bank's decision-making governing council "expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an extended period of time".
The Bank of England also held its main interest rate steady and stuck to its stimulus plans at the first meeting headed by its new governor, Canadian Mark Carney.
The yen's slide against the dollar also helped lift the Tokyo bourse.
The dollar stood at 100.24 yen, compared to 99.71 yen in London on Thursday, while the euro bought $1.2897 and 129.24 yen, off from $1.2922 and 129.62 yen in London.
Tokyo trading remained thin, ahead of the release of the monthly US labour report later in the day.
"All eyes are now on the US non-farm payroll figures due later in the global trading day," an equity trading director at a foreign brokerage told Dow Jones Newswires.
"Individual investor support for the market remains resilient, with confidence in the US economic rebound (and) the relatively strong dollar," the trader said.
