Japan's Nikkei share average rose more than 2 percent to 1-1/2-week highs on Tuesday after Japan's finance minister said Tokyo will intervene if the yen's "one-sided" rise persists.
The Nikkei gained 2.2 percent to 16,565.19, the highest closing level since April 28.
Finance Minister Taro Aso on Tuesday reiterated his resolve to intervene in the currency market if the yen's gains last long enough to hurt Japan's fragile economic recovery.
Chinese stocks eked out a small gain on Tuesday but the market struggled to find direction, bouncing between positive and negative territory all day.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 0.1 percent to 3,069.11 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed at 2,832.59.
Analysts said recent commentaries in official media were weighing on market sentiment.
A Monday article in the People's Daily newspaper, regarded as the Communist Party's mouthpiece, said the country may suffer from a financial crisis and economic recession if the government relies too much on debt-fuelled stimulus.
"The market's mood is not so great right now," said Zhang Qi, analyst at Haitong Securities in Shanghai.
"Analysts are still trying to interpret the recent commentary."
Hong Kong shares finished higher on Tuesday as a strong afternoon performance by technology and finance shares helped offset weakness in energy stocks which weighed on indices in the morning.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent, to 20,242.68, while the China Enterprises Index also gained 0.4 percent, to 8,486.16 points.
Total trading volume of companies included in the HSI index was 1.5 billion shares.
Reference: Reuters
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