(Updates prices after BOJ decision)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rose on Wednesday, with automaker shares helped by a weaker yen,

while the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged as widely

expected.

The Nikkei entered the midday trading recess 0.7%

higher at 38,107.27, and had risen to as high as 38,128.58

earlier, its highest since February 27.

The index had topped the psychologically significant 38,000

mark on Tuesday as well, but failed to close above that level.

The broader Topix gained 1.1%.

The yen ticked lower to 149.34 per dollar as of

0238 GMT, continuing its retreat from a more than five-month

high of 146.545 reached last week.

Transport equipment was among the top performing

indexes among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry groupings,

appreciating 2.1%. A weaker currency boosts the value of

overseas sales in yen terms.

Wholesale climbed 2.7% to be the best performer,

continuing this week's rally after Warren Buffett's Berkshire

Hathaway ( BRK/A ) raised its holdings in several Japanese

trading houses.

The BOJ held interest rates steady 0.5% in an unusually

early decision that came during morning trading.

The central bank said "Japan's economic and price outlook

remains highly uncertain," due in part to risks surrounding the

fallout from global trade policies.

Investors now turn their attention to Governor Kazuo Ueda's

press conference, scheduled for 0630 GMT.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected to leave policy

unchanged later on Wednesday, and the focus there will be on the

impact of President Donald Trump's aggressive and erratic tariff

campaign.

"Concerns about a worsening of the U.S. economy under

Trump's tariffs is deeply rooted, and it will take a toning down

on trade policy for the market's mood to improve," said Kazuo

Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura Securities.

Japanese markets are closed on Thursday for a national

holiday, meaning any chance to react to the Fed meeting will be

delayed by one day.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Varun H K)