Asian markets climbed on Wednesday following big losses in the previous session, with Tokyo surging as the yen tumbled after Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa said he will step down early.

Traders also took a lead from Wall Street and Europe, where encouraging economic data offset concerns over political uncertainty in Spain and Italy.

Tokyo soared more than three per cent to a 33-month high, Sydney added 0.84 per cent, Seoul gained 0.19 per cent, Hong Kong added 0.62 per cent and Shanghai was up 0.10 per cent.

Wellington was closed for a public holiday.