(Updates with current levels, adds comments from BOJ board

member Tamura and Gov Ueda's comments in paragraphs 3-4)

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond

(JGB) yields fell on Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year yield

hitting a three-week low, as investors digested comments from

Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials amid favourable bond auction

results.

While the market had braced for comments from hawkish BOJ

board member Naoki Tamura, the central bank official made few

waves, saying the central bank must proceed slowly but steadily

toward normalising its monetary policy.

At a news conference later, Tamura added that it was hard to

say exactly how much Japan's interest rates could rise.

Meanwhile, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said it was important to

support the economy with accommodative monetary policy for the

time being.

The 10-year JGB yield fell 1.5 basis points

(bps) to 0.730% in the Asian afternoon, its lowest since March

7. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

With the BOJ's exit from negative interest rates out of the

way, investors are seeking more clues on the bank's future rate

path.

Some clarity could come when the BOJ releases its the

quarterly economic projections at its April policy meeting, said

Ryutaro Kimura, a fixed income strategist at AXA Investment

Managers.

The results of the BOJ's second policy review workshop in

May and additional wage negotiation news will also garner

attention.

Yields on superlong bonds saw the largest declines,

following solid sales at an auction for 40-year notes.

The bid-to-cover ratio - a measure of demand at auctions -

was 2.49, the highest since September. A larger number signals

higher demand.

The 40-year JGB yield was last 3 bps lower at

2.050%.

The 20-year JGB yield and 30-year JGB yield

declined 2.5 bps to 1.480% and 1.785%,

respectively. The 20-year yield sat at a three-week low.

On the short end, the two-year JGB yield edged

down 0.5 bp to 0.190%.

The five-year yield fell 1.5 bps to

0.360%.

(Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Varun H K)