Data showed that Japan's factory output rose at the fastest pace in six months in November, after the longest unbroken rebound in 12 years of this country.

Tokyo stocks hit a four-month high, aided by the robust data. Japan's industrial production increased 2.6% in November, posting a ninth
straight monthly increase. Compared with a year earlier, November industrial output was down 3.9%, and is still far below levels seen before the global economic downturn began.

"Japanese manufacturers' production and profits are growing robustly on the back of expanding exports," said Naoki Murakami, chief economist
at Monex Securities. Factory output is expected to rise 3.4% in December and by a further 1.3% in January, the government said, citing
manufacturers' own forecasts.

"Materials makers are stepping up production as demand from China and the rest of Asia is expanding more strongly than companies had expected," Murakami said. Japan's exports to the rest of Asia rose 4.7% in November, posting the first rise in 14 months.

The benefits of higher production in Japan are also limited by the fact that companies are using a chunk of their profits to build new factories overseas, said Hideyuki Araki, an economist at Resona Research Institute.

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