* Nikkei up 1.1 pct, but profit-taking limits gains

* Weaker yen boosts exporters, risk appetite rising

* Investors keen to buy beaten-down shares like carmakers

* Tech shares rise after sharp sell-off in 2008 (Adds stocks, details)

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent on Tuesday, the first full trading day of 2009, as Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other exporters rose on a weaker yen and hopes for the U.S. administration taking office later this month.

Investors keen to buy shares that had been sold off heavily last year helped boost high techs such as Kyocera Corp (6971.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and carmakers, while Fast Retailing Co Ltd (9983.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rose on robust December sales. Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rose in line with the broader market, despite a plunge in U.S. auto sales for December, after it said it would tackle the sharp deterioration in global demand with plans to halt production at all of its domestic plants for a total of 11 days in February and March. [ID:nT158]

"Growing expectations for the administration of (U.S. President-elect Barack) Obama are making investors that much more willing to take risks, and I think we're also seeing more buying by foreign investors," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, supervisor at the investment advisory department of Okasan Securities. "It's a fact that foreign orders are increasing, and I think the more established stock markets have greater liquidity than those of emerging markets."

Wall Street slipped on Monday as investors moved to lock in profits, but Ishiguro said that Tokyo shares were supported by a sense that they remained relatively cheap. The Nikkei lost 42 percent in 2008, its worst year ever.