Japan stocks up as exporters gain on U.S., yen

(Updates to midmorning)

TOKYO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks rose across the board on Tuesday, with exporters such as Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) particularly in favour on a soft yen, while bank shares boosted higher after news from Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) helped spark a rally in U.S. peers.

One notable stock was NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which jumped nearly 3 percent, after the Nikkei business daily said DoCoMo would tie up with Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) with a view to adopting the Web giant's search and email features in its mobile phone Internet service. [ID:nT212997]

"Today's market is simply reflecting rallies in overseas markets during the long weekend," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Shinko Securities. "The yen's trading on the 114 yen level also helps exporters by relieving worries about the possibility of downward earnings revisions."

All Japanese financial markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday, the day following the Emperor's Birthday.

"Still, the scenario that subprime problems dictate the direction of the U.S. market is unchanged," Segawa said. "The focus will shift to the problems' fallout on the real economies next year."

As of 0044 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was up 1.8 percent or 281.23 points at 15,538.23 after rising more than 2 percent earlier. For the past week, it shed 1.7 percent.

The broader TOPIX index gained 1.8 percent or 25.73 points to 1,494.93.

On Monday in New York, the yen dipped to a six-week low against the dollar. In Asian trading it was up 0.3 percent at 114.42 yen <JPY=>.