TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

and the broader Topix index both touched record highs on Friday,

although they eased somewhat as investors booked profits and

positioned carefully before key U.S. economic data due later in

the day.

The benchmark Nikkei index exceeded its record high

hit on March 22 to jump as high as 41,100.13 earlier in the

session, while the broader Topix hit an all-time peak of

2,906.80, after breaking its previous record set in December

1989 on Thursday.

The Nikkei was up 0.3% at 41,051.49 by the midday break,

while the Topix was down 0.11% at 2895.42.

With both the indexes reaching record figures, there's a

"sense of accomplishment" in the market, said Masahiro Ichikawa,

chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

But gains eased as the market looked ahead to U.S. nonfarm

payrolls report out later on Friday, as investors adjusted

positions ahead of the closely watched data.

Given the Topix's and Nikkei's gains, there was also some

profit-taking, analysts said.

Japanese shares have gotten a boost this year in part from

corporate governance reforms, which fuelled expectations that

local companies will continue to increase returns.

A weak yen, meanwhile, has supported export-related shares

such as automakers, and an exit from the Bank of Japan's

ultra-easy monetary policy is lifting bank shares.

These last two factors in particular helped the broader

Topix hit all-time highs, said Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset

Management's Ichikawa.

"It feels like the environment in Japan has changed

considerably, including the economic situation."

Heavyweight stocks lifted the Nikkei. Chip-related Tokyo

Electron ( TOELF ) rose 1.9% and Uniqlo parent company Fast

Retailing ( FRCOF ) was up 0.9%

AI-focused startup investor SoftBank Group edged

about 1% higher.

Automakers dragged on Friday, with Toyota Motor ( TM )

falling 0.9% and Honda Motor ( HMC ) down 2.3%.