As prospects of a weakening yen, and increased performance on large exporters including Canon Inc. and Toyota Motor Co., the Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 3 per cent upwards today in the first half-day trading session of the new year.

Toyota, Honda, Ricoh, Nintendo, Canon and Suzuki all saw major gains today, citing weakened yen and prospective business markets as being major support variables in the gain.

Analysts believe much of the rise is based on hopes and expectations, particularly those towards the President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration near the end of this month. Some analysts aren’t so happy with these expectations, such as Russian political scientist Igor Panarin, who said quite strongly; stability in the U.S. is based on the hope President-elect, Barack Obama ” can work miracles, but when spring comes, it will be clear that there are no miracles.”

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