Japanese stocks closed higher on Tuesday after the holiday break, supported by yen weakness to record lows and expectations of fiscal stimulus.
The Nikkei 225 rose 3.1%, or 1,609.27 points, to close at 53,549.16.
The yen slid to its weakest against the dollar since July 2024 on Tuesday, falling as far as 158.91 amid speculation Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call a snap election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament's lower house at the start of its regular session, paving the way for a snap election in early February, Kyodo said, citing ruling party sources.
In economic news, Japan posted a November current account surplus of 3.674 trillion yen, up 10% on year, as exports rose and imports fell, widening the goods surplus to 625.3 billion yen.
Separately, Bank of Japan data showed outstanding loans grew 4.4% on year to 606.6 trillion yen in December, while deposits and certificates of deposit increased 0.9% to nearly 1,060 trillion yen.
On the corporate front, Mitsui & Co (TYO:8031), which jumped 4%, plans to launch Japan's first digital securities backed by fractional ownership of aircraft and ships via its Alterna platform from fiscal 2026, aiming to grow sales to about 100 billion yen by fiscal 2030.
Pasona Group (TYO:2168), which rose 2.3%, will offer XR-based video production services through a joint venture with South Korea's Vive Studios, targeting 1.5 billion yen in sales by March 2030.
Toyota Motor (TYO:7203), which ended 7.1% higher, stayed the world's top-selling automaker in 2025 for a sixth straight year, selling 10.32 million vehicles through November, ahead of Volkswagen's 8.98 million units for the full year.
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