TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose for a third straight session on Monday, extending its recovery from a six-week low marked last week, as a sharp decline in the yen boosted exporters while a drop in COVID-19 infections added to economic reopening hopes.
The Nikkei .N225 closed 1.60% higher at 28,498.20, gaining more than 1,000 points from Wednesday's six-week low, while the broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.77% to 1,996.58, marking its second straight winning session.
New cases of coronavirus infections in Japan fell to 553 on Sunday, the lowest in almost a year, according to public broadcaster NHK. At the height of Japan's fifth wave in late August, the number was close to 26,000.
"The rapid drop in coronavirus infections nationwide has taken away one reason for investors to be cautious, and they are buying back shares," said a market participant at a domestic securities firm.
Air transport .IAIR was among the best performing Topix sectors, rising 3.59%. ANA Holdings 9202.T rose 3.7% and Japan Airlines 9201.T added 3.5%.
Meanwhile, the yen slid as far as 112.75 per dollar for the first time since December 2018. A weaker currency increases the value of goods sold overseas when profits are repatriated.
Toyota Motor 7203.T rose 3.3%, while Mitsubishi Motors
7211.T rallied 5.9% and Nissan Motor 7201.T gained 5.3%. The transport equipment sector .ITEQP.T added 3%.
Panasonic Corp 6752.T advanced 6.7%, while a recovery in Chinese tech shares helped SoftBank Group 9984.T rise 4.9%.
Sony Group 6758.T rose 4.4% amid a report that it might build a new chip plant with TSMC in Japan.
Yaskawa Electric Corp 6506.T slid 1.9%, despite an upward revision to its profit outlook on Friday. The company is among the first to report results every season, and is widely viewed as a bellwether.
"On the surface the revision looks good, but it seems the market was hoping for a bit higher number," said a market participant with a separate domestic securities firm.
Business-support company Sansan 4443.T surged 14.4% after announcing a stock split along with earnings results.
(Reporting by Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((Kevin.Buckland@thomsonreuters.com;))