(Updates with details and closing prices)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, April 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rallied on Friday after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) opted to leave

interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, and said

accommodative monetary conditions are likely to continue for the

time being.

The Nikkei ended the day 0.8% higher at 37,934.76,

extending a 0.4% rise from the morning session after the BOJ

announced its policy decision during the midday recess.

During the session, the benchmark index gained more than 1%

and topped the psychological 38,000 level, but failed to

maintain the momentum.

The index still managed to advance 2.3% for the week,

recouping a part of the previous week's 6.2% tumble, its worst

weekly performance since June 2022.

The broader Topix finished the day 0.86% higher,

notching a 2.3% advance for the week.

The BOJ maintained its short-term interest rate target at a

range of 0-0.1% in a unanimous vote, and issued fresh estimates

projecting inflation to stay near its 2% target in the next

three years.

At the same time, a much simplified statement format left

some market participants wondering whether there was

significance in the removal of a reference to buying Japanese

government bonds at a pace of about 6 trillion yen ($38.5

billion) per month.

Investors are wary of hawkish signals from the central

bank, potentially aimed at propping up the yen, which dipped to

a fresh 34-year low of 156.215 per dollar after the

BOJ's announcement.

BOG Governor Kazuo Ueda is due to give a news conference

at 0630 GMT.

"The market's initial take is of a dovish BOJ," said

Shoki Omori, chief Japan desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.

"However, they changed their statement format and (as a

result of that) it is very unclear what they will do in the

future."

Real estate vaulted to the top of the Nikkei's best

performing sectors on the outlook for extended low interest

rates, with Mitsui Fudosan ( MTSFF ) up 3.6%.

Tech continued to be a bright spot, tracking overnight

gains in U.S. peers, with the Philadephia SE Semiconductor Index

jumping nearly 2% even as Wall Street's three main

indexes declined.

Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron ( TOELF ) climbed

nearly 2% and startup-investor SoftBank Group gained

2.35%.

Shin-Etsu Chemical ( SHECF ) bucked the trend among

semiconductor stocks, with the silicon producer diving more than

6% after announcing it would offer a hefty premium in a takeover

offer for Mimasu Semiconductor Industry ( MSMCF ).

($1 = 156.0600 yen)