Nikkei edges higher, aided by weak yen, China data

* Nikkei up 0.2 pct, Topix adds 0.1 pct

* China Oct PMI rises to 7-month high

TOKYO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average inched up on Monday, extending gains from a seven-month closing high in the previous session, as a weaker yen and improved Chinese manufacturing data supported sentiment. The Nikkei added 0.2 percent to 9,464.50 after gaining 5.8 percent in November to log its best monthly performance since February. The benchmark has rallied 9.2 percent, led by exporters, while the yen has fallen over the past 2-1/2 weeks on speculation the Bank of Japan will be pushed to adopt aggressive policy action after a Dec. 16 national election. Leader of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, has been calling for the Bank of Japan to take bolder actions, including setting a 2 percent inflation target and embarking on "unlimited easing". The LDP is expected to win the most seats and form government after the election. "I don't believe what all Abe says, but at least the new government will push the BOJ to ease monetary conditions," Ryota Sakagami, chief strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities said. "My understanding of the current market move is mainly due to the catch up of high-beta exporting companies due to the global economic trend ... This process of catch up will continue until the Nikkei hit 10,000." Some exporters remained in demand with Canon Inc, Ricoh Co Ltd and Suzuki Motor Corp up between 0.4 and 0.9 percent. Toyota Motor Corp was down 0.7 percent, although it is still up nearly 15 percent in the past 2-1/2 weeks, while Honda Motor Co slipped 0.3 percent. The currency was traded at 82.37 yen to the dollar on Monday after falling as low as 82.75 yen on Friday, near its 7-1/2-month low of 82.84 touched on Nov. 22. A rise in China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index to a seven-month high of 50.6 in November from 50.2 in October also lent support to the Japanese market as China is the country's top export market. Construction machinery makers Komatsu Ltd and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd, which have significant exposure in China, advanced 0.6 and 1.5 percent, respectively. The broader Topix put on 0.1 percent to 782.48. Japanese equities carry a 12-month forward price-to-book ratio of 0.9, much cheaper than the U.S. S&P 500's 1.9 and the pan-European STOXX Europe 600's 1.4, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream showed. The benchmark Nikkei is up 11.9 percent this year, slightly behind a 12.6 percent rise in the S&P 500 and a 12.8 percent gain in the STOXX Europe 600.