(Updates with closing prices)

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average

fell on Friday and logged its worst week in more than a month

despite the tailwind from a weaker yen, as the decline on Wall

Street and caution after major central bank policy decisions

weighed.

The Nikkei closed 0.29% lower at 38,701.90, bringing

it to a weekly decline of 1.66%, its steepest decline since

early-November.

The broader Topix lost 0.44%, and fell 1.19% for the

week, the index's sharpest weekly drop since mid-October.

Stocks drew little support from the Bank of Japan's (BOJ)

decision to not hike interest rates on Thursday or from Governor

Kazuo Ueda's news conference where he said considerable time was

required to judge the outlook for domestic wages and overseas

economies, chiefly the U.S.

This came after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled a more

cautious pace of rate cuts in 2025, after trimming rates by a

quarter point on Wednesday.

That sent the U.S. S&P 500 diving almost 3%, its

biggest single-day decline since early August.

An invigorated dollar and an out-of-favour yen saw the pair

touch 157.93 on the day for the first time since

mid-July on Friday.

Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and top currency

diplomat Atsushi Mimura called the yen's sharp slide "alarming",

and said officials are ready to take "appropriate action".

"With the weekend approaching, investors have a high sense

of caution about what is next for the yen," said Maki Sawada, an

equities strategist at Nomura Securities.

Concerns about the potential for currency volatility may

have stifled a potential relief rally following a week of huge,

market-moving events, she said.

Carmakers, at least, were supported by the weaker yen, which

boosts the value of overseas sales. Toyota ( TM ) gained

1.74%.

Real estate was the best performer among the

Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry groups, climbing 2.39% as

Japanese government bond yields sank to one-month lows.

Banks, which tend to move in tandem with bond

yields, were the worst sectoral performers, shedding 2.67%.

Kadokawa ( KDKWF ) fell by its daily limit of 16% after the

media powerhouse behind the "Elden Ring" game announced a

capital tie-up with Sony ( SONY ), instead of a widely

anticipated acquisition. Sony ( SONY ) added 0.74%.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Varun

H K)