TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Japan shares rose on Wednesday, taking positive cues from Wall Street as Dow Jones benchmark scaled a record high overnight, with investor sentiment lifted by vaccine optimism and fading U.S. election uncertainty.

The Nikkei share average rose 1.59% to 26,581.98, having closed at a 29-1/2-year high on Tuesday.

"The overall market is rising today, and cyclical shares are being bought," said Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Securities.

The Dow Jones broke past 30,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 also closed at a record high as investors anticipated a swift economic recovery on coronavirus vaccine progress and President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House.

The broader Topix added 1.15% to 1,782.72, extending gains from a more than two-year high marked in the previous session.

All but four of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher.

Highly cyclical shippers, miners iron and steel led gains on the main bourse.

Shares of semiconductor-related companies advanced, taking positive cues from its U.S. peers. Shin-Etsu Chemical climbed 3.39%, Advantest added 0.83%, while Tokyo Electron inched up around 0.7%.

Elsewhere, Nissan Motor jumped 6.78%, boosted by a combination of short-covering and hopes on shift to electric vehicles after the company said its redesigned compact car would feature hybrid technology system.

But land transport sector erased early gains to trade 0.36% lower after local media reported on Wednesday that Tokyo will urge bars and restaurants to operate shortened hours following a surge in coronavirus infections.

Tokyo's call comes after the Japanese government on Tuesday paused its domestic travel promotion campaign in the cities of Sapporo and Osaka.

The Mothers Index of start-up firm shares bucked the overall firmness and lost 1.8%. (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)