-- Japan's stocks rose for a second day after crude oil sank to a six-week low, easing concern energy costs will dent profits and consumer demand for Japanese goods.

Honda Motor Co. rose to a one-month high. Komatsu Ltd. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. surged after bigger rival Caterpillar Inc. reported earnings that beat analysts' estimates. Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Mitsui Fudosan Co. sent real-estate shares to their biggest gain in three months after JPMorgan Chase & Co. rated the developers ``overweight.''

``If oil really stops rising, it will be a huge tailwind for Japanese manufacturers,'' Naoki Fujiwara, who oversees about $720 million as chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co. ``People used to pile into oil investments without a second thought, but there seems to be a shift in that trend now.''

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 127.97, or 1 percent, to close at 13,312.93 in Tokyo. The broader Topix index advanced 15.61, or 1.2 percent, to 1,303.35. More than three stocks rose for each that fell.

Record commodity costs have caused companies and individuals to pare spending, prompting the biggest drop in consumer sentiment in 26 years last month and the Bank of Japan to cut its growth forecast. Consumer prices probably rose at the fastest pace in a decade in June, a Bloomberg survey of economists showed.

Nikkei futures expiring in September advanced 0.8 percent to 13,310 in Osaka and gained 1 percent to 13,315 in Singapore.