TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Japan's 10-year government

bond yield rose to a three-month high on Friday as investors

braced for the Bank of Japan's decision to end the negative rate

policy next week, while an overnight jump in U.S. yields weighed

on sentiment.

The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose to

0.795%, its highest since Dec. 11, and was last up 1 basis point

at 0.785%.

U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Thursday following

hotter-than-expected February inflation data, raising

uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve would cut interest

rates later than June as widely expected.

Japan's largest trade union group is due to announce results

of this week's annual wage talks later in the day, with

expectations for a rise of more than 4%, which would be the

biggest boost since the early 1990s and strengthen the case for

a central bank shift.

"The outcome will be a gauge for us to bet how fast the BOJ

will raise rates after the central bank exits from the negative

rate policy," said Katsutoshi Inadome, a senior strategist at

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.

"If the outcome is strong, the pace for further rate hikes

will be faster."

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday the outcome of the

annual wage negotiation is critical in deciding on the timing of

an exit from massive stimulus.

The five-year yield rose 1 bp to 0.380%.

The 20-year JGB yield rose 1 bp to 1.560%.

The 30-year JGB yield rose 1.5 bp to 1.850%.

Meanwhile, the two-year JGB yield, which is

highly sensitive to the end of the negative rate, fell 0.5 bp to

0.185%.

(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Varun H K)