Japanese shares soared 4.55% on Thursday to hit a six-month high, tracking solid gains on Wall Street as investors returned from the Golden Week holiday.
The Nikkei rose 408.33 points to 9,385.70, the best finish since 5 November.
The broader Topix index of all first section shares climbed 39.08 points, or 4.61%, to 885.93.
Hong Kong share prices closed 2.28% higher on Thursday. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 383.32 points at 17,217.89.
The Australian share market posted its highest close so far for calendar 2009, finishing up almost 2%, led by better than expected local jobs data and strong gains from overseas bourses.
At the close of trading, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 71.6 points, or 1.85%, at 3938.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 72 points, 1.87% to 3912.1.
In New Zealand, the benchmark index was up 23 points, or 0.83%, to 2854.
US gains
Wall Street posted solid gains on Wednesday after employment figures helped ease jitters over upcoming results of "stress tests" on the banking system.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 101.63 points, or 1.21%, to settle at 8,512.28.
The Nasdaq rose 4.98 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 1,759.1. Standard & Poor's 500 lifted 15.73 points, or 1.74%, to settle at 919.53.
