(Updates yields, adds fresh analyst comment, detail on the yen)

By Satoshi Sugiyama

TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond

yields climbed across the curve on Friday, driven by higher

crude oil prices and a weaker yen, as the Middle East war

strengthened inflation concerns.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 6 basis

points to 2.240%. The yield on the 40-year JGB,

Japan's longest tenor, rose 3 bps to 3.74%.

Yields move inversely to bond prices.

"What is particularly notable right now is the simultaneous rise

in crude oil prices and the weakening of the yen," said Ryutaro

Kimura, senior bond strategist at AXA Investment Managers.

"In terms of yen-denominated imported energy, it acts in an

upward direction on Japan's headline inflation, creating upward

pressure on interest rates."

Japan depends on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil

imports.

The 20-year JGB yield climbed 5 bps to 3.11%.

The 30-year yield added 4 bps to 3.51%.

The BOJ is set to hold its policy meeting next week. All 64

analysts surveyed in the latest Reuters poll expect the central

bank to keep its key interest rate unchanged.

The two-year yield, which is the most

sensitive to Bank of Japan policy rates, increased 2.5 bps to

1.28%. The five-year yield rose 5.5 bps to 1.680%.

The yen slid to 159.455 per U.S. dollar, the weakest

since July 2024.

"Market participants remain divided over what the BOJ will

emphasize next week: whether it will focus on the pressure that

higher crude oil prices put on consumers and the economy, or on

the fact that they push headline inflation higher," he said.