The Nikkei rose 0.6% to 28,097 by the midday break,
after hitting a one-week high earlier in the session. The
broader Topix rose 0.8%.
Department-store operator J.Front Retailing rose 1%
after reporting a tripling in net profit for the year ended
February after market close on Tuesday and forecast further
growth.
It also boosted the sector, with mall-owner Aeon up
1.5% and Takashimaya rising 1%.
Buffett, 92 and a renowned investor, told Nikkei in an
interview on Tuesday that he was proud of his investments in
Japan's top trading houses, and added that "there are always a
few" other Japan investments he is considering.
His Berkshire Hathaway has 7.4% stakes in trading
houses are Itochu Corp , Marubeni Corp ,
Mitsubishi Corp , Mitsui & Co and Sumitomo Corp , all of which rose more than 1.5% on Wednesday.
"The market was lifted by Buffett's strong message," said
Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department of
Tachibana Securities.
"The five trading firms were strong, but also investors
looked for shares that would become his new targets."
There were 198 advancers on the Nikkei index against 24
decliners. The upbeat sentiment seemed to help the debut of
lunar transport start-up ispace Inc , which were
untraded by mid-session as a glut of buy orders overwhelmed
offers.
Other top gainers included Komatsu , climbing 3.9%,
after the construction machinery maker posted a 4% rise in the
use of its equipment in China through March.
Semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electron was the
Nikkei's largest loser, down 1.3%.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo; writing and additional
reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
TOKYO, April 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rallied for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, helped by
signs of consumer spending in department stores and spillover
from optimism over billionaire Warren Buffett eyeing increasing
investments in the country.
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