Japan's commodity-related stocks rose after cargo rates and metal prices rebounded, boosting the earnings outlook for shipping and trading companies.
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, Japan's second-biggest shipping line, jumped 2.6 per cent to 1,633 yen, while trading company Sumitomo Corp advanced 1.2 per cent to 1,576 yen.
Nikon Corp, the world's second-biggest maker of cameras used by professionals, sank 0.6 per cent to 3,340 yen after Merrill Lynch & Co cut its rating.
The Topix index gained 1.2 per cent to 1,425.10, while the Nikkei 225 rose to 14,440.14, its highest close since Jan 9. 'The market is in an upward trend, and investors, especially those overseas, are waking up to the fact that their performance will suffer if they are underweight Japanese stocks,' Yoshifumi Kikuchi, a market analyst at Yutaka Securities Co, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, rose 1.7 per cent in the two days through May 30, after losing 4.7 per cent over the preceding five trading days.
Copper gained for the first time in four sessions on May 30, while gold posted the biggest advance in 10 days as a drop in the dollar against the euro increased demand for the precious metal as an inflation hedge.
Nikkei futures expiring this month finished up 100 points at 14,440 on the Osaka Securities Exchange.