TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed higher on Wednesday, in line with an Asia-wide rally, as investors kept tabs on the progress of vaccine rollouts and Joe Biden's US stimulus proposal.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.51 percent, or 150.93 points, to end at 29,559.10, while the broader Topix index also climbed 0.51 percent, or 9.69 points, to 1,904.54.

"Tokyo shares grew helped by gains on Asian shares," said Toshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okasan Online Securities.

Automakers were among main winners, with Toyota rising 0.60 percent to 7,971 yen and Honda gaining 3.57 percent to 3,101 yen.

Nissan soared 4.15 percent to 608.7 yen, after a US father-son pair accused of helping former boss Carlos Ghosn in his audacious escape from Japan arrived in Tokyo late Tuesday, having lost their battle against extradition.

Takeda Pharmaceutical jumped 3.18 percent to 3,793 yen after reports said its partner US biotech firm Moderna is planning to file for approval of its coronavirus vaccine in Japan as early as Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group added 2.11 percent to 10,600 yen while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing was up 0.23 percent at 104,950 yen.

The dollar fetched 106.86 yen, against 106.68 yen in New York late Wednesday.