LONDON, Dec 7 - Sterling hit a five-week high against the beleaguered yen on Friday, after data confirming Japan had slid into its second recession in three years put the Japanese currency under fire from all directions. The pound was almost unchanged on the day against the dollar and the euro, however, holding just below gains made in the previous session as the market geared up to wait for key U.S. jobs data later in the day. The yen hit four-month lows against the dollar and nine-week troughs versus the euro after a 0.5 percent contraction in the Japanese economy in the third quarter added to a string of negative news on the economy. "We've had a break out for the yen against a lot of currencies on the weaker side, against the euro as well, so it's not surprising that sterling is performing reasonably well against the yen also," said Derek Halpenny, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. By 0920 GMT sterling was quoted just below the day's peak of 178.49 yen , according to data, its strongest level since early November. The pound was steady at $1.4247 , just below gains made after mixed U.S. weekly jobless and productivity figures took the wind out of the dollar's sails in the previous session. Against the euro, the pound was a steady on the day at 62.60 pence , almost a half-penny gain from last week's one-month low at 62.99. Overall though, Halpenny said sterling retained its attractiveness among the Group of Seven most industrialised nations' currencies, although it was likely to remain hostage to the euro's fortunes against the dollar in coming months. "Of all the G7 economies it's in by far the best position and has the most attractive interest rate structure," he said. For the immediate future, however, sterling was subdued ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1330 GMT, traders said. "Sterling/yen is likely to remain quietly bid. Euro/dollar is coming down and dollar/yen is drifting higher so sterling/yen is getting a bit sidelined but remaining firm," said one dealer at a UK bank.