By Daniel Inman 

Chinese stocks moved higher on Tuesday, after the People's Bank of China injected money into the financial system, while a weaker yen helped push Japanese stocks higher.

The dollar rose against the yen in Asian trade as the Bank of Japan starts a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. Although there is little expectation of a change in monetary policy, the yen softened because of hopes that Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda might hint at additional easing at his news conference after the meeting finishes.

The yen was last trading at Yen104.58 to the dollar, compared with Yen104.17 late Monday in New York. The softer Japanese currency helped propel the Nikkei 1.4% higher.

China was in focus on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China moved to offer funds to big lenders on Monday after short-term borrowing costs leapt as demand for cash increased ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The weighted seven-day repurchase agreement rate was at 5.4% on Tuesday, from 6.6% on Monday.

The effect was most apparent in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 2.1%, while the broader Hang Seng Index added 0.7%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%.

Chinese markets have been sensitive to domestic money market rates after a cash crunch last summer led to a sharp fall in Shanghai. The recent rise in rates, along with a fourth-quarter slowdown in Chinese gross domestic product, resulted in losses for both Hong Kong and Shanghai on Monday.

More broadly across Asia, there was no guidance from the U.S. overnight, as Wall Street was closed for a public holiday. Regional markets started the day close to the break-even mark, but gained after China and Japan moved higher.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 was up 0.5% and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3%. Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.3%.

In corporate news, Lenovo Holdings rose by 3.3% in Hong Kong after reports said that the computer firm is a potential buyer of IBM's low-end server business . The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that IBM had put the business back on the auction block after abandoning a sale effort last year. On Tuesday, Lenovo acknowledged in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it is in preliminary talks on a "potential acquisition."

Elsewhere, Woodside Petroleum dropped 1.3% in Australia after the oil and gas company was downgraded by both Macquarie and the Royal Bank of Canada. Videogame company Nintendo dropped 2.3% in Japan, extending its 6.2% fall on Monday, prompted by poor sales of its Wii U console.

Write to Daniel Inman at daniel.inman@wsj.com

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