Japan's Nikkei average rose more than 2 percent to a six-week high on Monday, with banks including top lender MUFG jumping on hopes for U.S. plans to further help a strained financial system, while a weaker yen helped exporters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will hold a briefing at 1245 GMT to announce plans for a public-private effort to rid banks of toxic assets at the heart of financial woes. Hopes for the U.S. plan boosted U.S. stock futures by more than 1 percent as investors appeared more willing to take on risk. Energy-linked shares such as trading firms including Mitsubishi Corp jumped after oil prices rose more than 1 percent toward $53 a barrel amid hopes for a speedy recovery of the U.S. economy. "Sentiment in the U.S. market has shifted toward optimism recently, but we still don't know the details of Geithner's announcement and that optimism isn't beyond just hopes," said Takahiko Murai, general manager at Nozomi Securities. "Also, March is the end of the business year in Japan, prompting institutions such as pension funds to buy to prop up stock prices. So we shouldn't see the gains as a sign of improvement in fundamw and the Nikkei will likely consolidate around 8,000, at least until the G20 meeting in April," said Yumi Nishimura, manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC. BANKS STRONG Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) jumped 4.1 percent to 509 yen. Separately, Japan's biggest bank said on Monday it plans to close 50 branches and cut 1,000 jobs to continue slimming down its operations since its 2005 merger, as a tumbling stock market depletes its earnings. No.2 Mizuho Financial Group gained 4.3 percent to 218 yen and third-ranked Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group shot up 5.9 percent to 3,750 yen. Exporters gained as the dollar was trading around 96.15 yen, after falling as far as 93.55 on Thursday. Investors welcome a weaker yen as it boosts exporters' profits when repatriated. Electronics parts maker Kyocera Corp added 2.4 percent to 6,730 yen, while industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd advanced 3.9 percent to 6,880 yen. The two stocks were the top positive contributors to the Nikkei 225. Trading houses, which are major dealers in energy and have stakes in oil and gas projects, gained on higher crude prices. Mitsubishi, Japan's largest trading house, surged 6.4 percent to 1,306 yen and Mitsui & Co soared 9.7 percent to 976 yen. Oil and gas field developer Inpex climbed 3.8 percent to 710,000 yen.

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