TOKYO - Asian markets rose on Monday, with Tokyo up nearly two percent after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's decision to resign pushed down the value of the yen.
Investors were also digesting weak US jobs data, while crude prices climbed after eight key members of the OPEC+ alliance said they had agreed to again boost oil production.
"A combination of weak US labour market data coupled with rising political uncertainty in Japan dominated global markets as we started the week in Asia," Michael Wan at MUFG said in a note.
Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 1.9 percent, with Japanese exporters benefiting from a slide in the yen's value -- one dollar bought 148.14 yen in morning trade, up from 147.07 yen on Friday.
Japanese bond yields also climbed after Ishiba said Sunday he would step down after less than a year in power, heralding fresh uncertainty for the world's fourth-largest economy.
"I don't think we can say that the resignation of PM Ishiba is a complete surprise as it's been mooted for some time but the timing of the announcement is certainly unexpected," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.
"As for the market reaction, this obviously introduces significant downside risks for the (Japanese yen) and for long-end" Japanese government bonds (JGBs), he added.