* Yaskawa tumbles more than 5 pct 
    * U.S. monetary policy and Abe's economic policy will likely 
determine market direction - analyst 
 
    By Ayai Tomisawa 
    TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged 
up in choppy trade on Tuesday morning, on track for a record 
16-day winning streak, while Yaskawa Electric tumbled after 
disappointing investors with  tepid profit forecasts. 
    The Nikkei  .N225  rose 0.2 percent to 21,737.30 in 
midmorning trade after opening lower. 
    The index traversed positive and negative territory after it 
scaled 21-year highs on Monday to rise for a record 15th 
straight session after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition 
scored a resounding election victory on Sunday. 
     The dollar inched 0.1 percent lower to 113.36 yen  JPY= , 
pulling away from a three-month high of 114.10 against the yen 
hit after Sunday's general election.  
    "The dollar-yen dipped a bit, but it's still stable. 
Investors are now monitoring how U.S. monetary policy will turn 
out, and what economic policies the Abe administration will come 
up with," said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, a strategist at Mizuho 
Securities, noting that these two elements were likely to  
determine market direction over the next few weeks. 
    U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday he was 
"very, very close" after interviewing five candidates to 
deciding who should chair the Federal Reserve.  
    Exporters were mixed, with Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T  rising 
0.4 percent, Advantest Corp  6857.T  adding 0.1 percent, while 
Hitachi Ltd  6501.T  falling 0.5 percent. 
    Yaskawa Electric Corp  6506.T , one of the earliest  
companies to report first-half earnings, dived more than 5 
percent and was the fifth most-traded stock by turnover. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB0WD971J 
    The electrical equipment maker raised its full-year 
operating profit projection to 54 billion yen from the 
previously forecast 45.5 billion yen, but investors were 
disappointed because the new forecast was in line with the 
market consensus.  
    Banking stocks gained ground, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial 
Group  8306.T  rising 1.4 percent and Mizuho Financial Group 
 8411.T  adding 0.8 percent. 
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  rose 0.4 percent to 1,752.13. 
 
 (Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Eric Meijer) 
 ((ayai.tomisawa@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-6441-1875; Reuters 
Messaging: ayai.tomisawa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: JAPAN STOCKS/MIDDAY