* Nikkei claws higher, but Shanghai fall weighs
* Eyes on Japan Aug. 30 election, post-election policies
* Casio Computer soars on possible cellphone merger news
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The Nikkei stock average edged up 0.6 percent on Friday in thin trade, with the market largely caught between investor reluctance to aggressively buy in the face of weak Shanghai shares and wariness about selling before Japan's August 30 election. An eight day rising streak for the Dow helped sentiment, and big gainers in Tokyo included Casio Computer Co which surged after sources said it, NEC Corp and Hitachi Ltd are in talks to merge their struggling cellphone operations.
Shanghai shares lost 2.7 percent, led by bank stocks, after local media reports that Chinese banks' August lending may have dropped sharply from earlier in the year, trimming liquidity flowing into the market.
Analysts say investors have factored in a big win for Japan's opposition Democratic Party in the election and the focus is now shifting to post-election events, including who will be the next finance and economy ministers.
"Investors are basically squaring their positions ahead of the weekend and the election, unwilling to sell in case foreign investment pours into the market after the election and unwilling to buy because of Shanghai," said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"Though the market may well respond positively to a clear win by the Democrats, mostly it's been factored in. Attention will quickly turn to their policies and then to the wave of economic indicators coming out next week, both in Japan and the U.S."
The Nikkei gained 60.17 points to 10,534.14 after falling 1.6 percent the previous day. It gained 2.9 percent on the week.
The broader Topix rose 0.5 percent to 969.31.
The Democrats lead Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party in newspaper polls ahead of the election. An opposition victory would end more than five decades of almost continuous rule by the LDP and raise the chances of breaking a stalemate in a divided parliament.
"Just having the election over will remove one big uncertainty for the market, and then attention will shift to policies," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
"Even if the Democrats don't win as much as predicted, I don't think the market will fall that much."
The market remained supported by positive sentiment after the Dow industrials posted an eighth straight day of gains on Thursday. But some additional downward pressure came from U.S. stock futures, which turned negative in Asian afternoon trade.
CASIO CLIMBS, EXPORTERS UP
Amid the generally lacklustre activity, Casio Computer shone, shooting up 8.5 percent to 919 yen. NEC Corp rose 0.6 percent to 333 yen and Hitachi gained 1.6 percent to 327 yen.
Exporters were firm on positive sentiment stemming from the Dow's rising streak. Kyocera Corp rose 1.1 percent to 7,600 yen, Canon Inc gained 1.9 percent to 3,690 yen and Tokyo Electron rose 1.8 percent to 5,090 yen.
Tokyo Denpa Co, a maker of quartz oscillators and filters, rocketed 15.8 percent to 735 yen after electronics parts maker Murata Manufacturing Co said it would take 1 million shares in the company..
Toyo Tire & Rubber Co advanced 2.3 percent to 224 yen after saying on Thursday it will invest 10 billion yen ($107 million) to build a tyre factory in China.
But Toyota Motor Corp was flat at 4,040 yen percent after saying it would end its production contract with NUMMI, a California plant it has shared with General Motors for 25 years, by March 2010.
NTN Corp quickly swung into negative territory after the bearing maker said it would make an announcement about a public share offering later in the day.
NTN slid 1.6 percent to 441 yen after dropping as much as 3.1 percent. Before the news, it had climbed about 6 percent at one stage.
Trade was light on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 1.9 billion shares changing hands, below last week's daily average of 2.1 billion.
Advancing stocks beat declining ones, 863 to 663. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)