TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

rebounded sharply in early trade on Thursday, buoyed by a softer

yen after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that the country

was not ready for further interest rate hikes.

The Nikkei gained 2.6% to 38,781.26, as of 0007 GMT,

while the broader Topix was up 2.05%.

Ishiba said Japan is not in an environment for an additional

rate increase, in an apparent effort to shake off his reputation

as a monetary hawk, after a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor

Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday.

The yen was last hovering around 146.56 per dollar on

Thursday, after strengthening to as high as 141.65 on Monday, as

markets initially digested Ishiba's win in the ruling Liberal

Democratic Party's leadership election last Friday.

The yen and Japanese stocks typically move in opposite

directions, since a stronger currency hurts exporters'

competitiveness when repatriating revenue.

Technology shares rose, tracking their U.S. peers gains' on

Wall Street overnight.