TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond yields

jumped to more than decade highs for some tenors on Thursday,

tracking a surge among U.S. peers overnight while also drawing

support from a hawkish shift at the Bank of Japan.

The five-year JGB yield rose as high as 0.525%

for the first time since April 2011 before easing slightly to

0.515% as of 0253 GMT, up 3.5 basis points from Wednesday.

The 30-year yield touched 2% for the first

time since February 2013, and was last at 1.995%, a 3.5 bps

advance.

The 10-year JGB yield was 3.5 bps higher at

0.91%, after earlier reaching 0.92%, approaching last month's

nearly six-month high of 0.93%.

Equivalent U.S. Treasury yields stood at about

4.5% in Asian trading on Thursday, after rebounding strongly

from Tuesday's nearly one-month low of 4.42% overnight.

Investors have been trying to assess the odds for Federal

Reserve rate cuts this year amid stubbornly high inflation,

although cooler-than-predicted jobs data last week provided bond

bulls with some respite. The benchmark yield was at a nearly

six-month peak of 4.739% on April 25.

Locally, minutes from the BOJ's most recent policy meeting

in April showed officials turned overwhelmingly hawkish, with

many calling for the need to raise interest rates steadily to

forestall risks of an inflation overshoot.

Governor Kazuo Ueda had at that time struck a more balanced

tone, saying the central bank would raise rates depending on

incoming economic data, while refraining to give clues about

when another rate hike would come or monthly bond purchases

could be reduced. The BOJ raised rates for the first time since

2007 in March.

"Governor Ueda has shifted his tone to the hawkish side, but

until his message becomes consistent, markets will struggle to

find to right levels for yields," said Shoki Omori, chief Japan

desk strategist, Mizuho Securities.

The 20-year JGB yield rose 3.5 bps to 1.69%

on Thursday.

The two-year JGB yield added 2.5 bps to

0.305%.

Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.32 yen to

144.24.