Tokyo stocks opened 1.46 percent higher on Wednesday after plunging more than four percent the previous day, as gains on Wall Street gave investors a positive lead.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index, which lost 4.18 percent on Tuesday, climbed 204.63 points to 14,213.10 at the start.
Recent selloffs in Japanese stocks made investors cautious, likely keeping the benchmark index below 14,500 for now, said Eiji Kinouchi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
Tuesday's retreat brought the Nikkei's loss since the start of the year to 14 percent.
Some bank stocks may rise because their earnings results were strong but sentiment among market participants "has weakened" over the previous sessions, Kinouchi noted.
"A rebound in New York isn't that big," he told Dow Jones Newswires, adding any meaningful gains in stocks were unlikely to come before US payrolls data due out on Friday.
US stocks Tuesday closed higher after some solid corporate results helped spark a partial recovery from the previous day's rout.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47 percent to 15,445.24.
The dollar was at 101.65 yen early Wednesday compared with 101.64 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.
The euro bought $1.3514 and 137.46 yen against $1.3515 and 137.36 yen in US trade.
