TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rose on Thursday as investors bought back equities after a sharp drop in the previous session, with airline and railway stocks leading the recovery.

The Nikkei share average had gained 0.46% to 27,946.20 by the midday break, recovering from its worst session in three months. The broader Topix rose 0.36% to 1,954.38.

"It is a rebound from previous session. The market fell too much yesterday," said Seiichi Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute. "But the rebound is small because overnight gains in U.S. equities were limited."

Wall Street ended a directionless session higher on Wednesday as an on-target inflation report largely stanched the flow of Tuesday's sell-off and investors pressed the "pause" button.

In Japan, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 1.56% and provided the biggest boost to the Nikkei, while game maker Nintendo climbed 3.15%.

SoftBank Group rose 1.3% after Reuters reported citing a source that the technology inventor was considering launching a third Vision Fund, likely using its own capital.

Airline and railway stocks rose 1.5% and 1.54%, respectively, after a report said Japan was expected to waive visa requirements for certain tourists and remove a limit on daily arrivals in October as it aimed to benefit from a rebound in global tourism.

Publishing firm Kadokawa fell 4.78% after its chairman was arrested by Tokyo prosecutors on suspicion of bribery. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)