Asian stock markets rise as Bank of Japan raises key rate to 1.25 percent

The broader Topix is bucking the trend and is down 0.4 percent. South Korea's Kospi, on the other hand, is climbing 2.2 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up 0.7 percent, Shenzhen is up 1.0 percent and Shanghai is up 0.8 percent.

During the lunch break in Japan, the Bank of Japan also announced that it would raise its key interest rate to 1.25 percent to combat inflation and support the yen. This is the highest rate in the country since 1995, Reuters reports.