Tokyo stocks rose Monday morning, with the Nikkei index hitting a fresh 34-year intraday high, supported by firm tech shares after gains on their U.S. peers late last week.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 412.29 points, or 1.15 percent, from Friday to 36,375.56. The broader Topix index was up 20.93 points, or 0.83 percent, at 2,530.96.
The U.S. dollar fell slightly to the upper 147 yen range amid concerns among some participants that the Japanese currency's recent weakening would prompt the country's authorities to conduct a yen-buying intervention.
At noon, the U.S. dollar fetched 147.74-77 yen compared with 148.11-21 yen in New York and 148.26-28 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday.
The euro was quoted at $1.0906-0910 and 161.13-22 yen against $1.0893-0903 and 161.42-52 yen in New York and $1.0879-0880 and 161.30-34 yen in Tokyo late Friday afternoon.
A wide range of issues were bought as the Nikkei benchmark briefly gained nearly 600 points, as semiconductor-related issues such as Tokyo Electron and Advantest were particularly high following advances on a key U.S. semiconductor index late last week.
Meanwhile, market participants were focused on the two-day Bank of Japan policy meeting starting later Monday.
"While the bank is not expected to make any changes to its policy this time around, investors will be paying attention to Gov. (Kazuo) Ueda's comments Tuesday to gauge when it intends to do so," said Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.
