Tokyo stocks rose 1.77 per cent, tracking gains on Wall Street as investors took a positive view of last week's below-forecast US employment report.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index added 255.93 points to 14,718.34, while the Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 1.27 per cent, or 15.14 points, to 1,204.28.
The US Labor Department said on Friday that the economy added 113,000 jobs in January, far below the 175,000 forecast.
However, analysts said the report did include some upbeat news, such as a rise in labour force participation and a drop in the overall unemployment rate.
The news boosted Wall Street, with the Dow jumping 1.06 per cent, the S&P 500 up 1.33 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.69 per cent higher.
"The labour data certainly weren't convincing enough to warrant strong confidence in the US economic recovery, which could have simply meant that US shares were oversold and ready for a rebound," Daisuke Uno, strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, told Dow Jones Newswires.
"(New US Fed Chair Janet) Yellen's testimony before the Senate is going to be under scrutiny for how the data are being officially interpreted."
Investors will be keeping a close eye on her comments for clues about the Fed's plans for its stimulus program, which has been credited with buoying global equity markets.
In share trading, Sony rose 0.65 per cent to 1,702 yen and Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing jumped 2.96 per cent at 37,335 yen.
Toyota closed up 1.59 per cent at 5,994 yen. After the market closed the firm said it was terminating production in Australia.
Automaker Nissan rose 0.11 per cent to 885 yen ahead of the release of its nine-month earnings.
In forex markets, the dollar was at 102.43 yen, up from 102.30 yen in New York on Friday.
