(Updates yield levels)

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO, July 15 (Reuters) - Japan's 30-year government

bond fell on Tuesday, with the yield hitting a record high, on

concerns about the nation's fiscal health ahead of a closely

monitored national election at the end of this week.

The 30-year JGB yield touched an all-time

high of 3.195%, before easing to 3.18%, up 2.5 basis points

(bps) from the previous session.

Yields move inversely to prices.

The market weighed the risk of the defeat of the Liberal

Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito at the

upcoming upper house election on July 20.

A potential defeat could empower opposition parties that

have pledged in their campaign platforms to cut or abolish the

sales tax.

The 20-year JGB yield rose to as high as

2.64%, its highest since November 1999, the 10-year JGB yield

rose to as high as 1.595%, its highest level

since October 2008.

If the LDP-led coalition loses the majority, the 10-year

bond yield could rise to as high as 1.8%, the highest level

since mid-2008, said Katsutoshi Inadome, a senior strategist at

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.

"This indicates how the fiscal health has worsened and

prices have risen since then," Inadome said.

"Now the Bank of Japan owns about half of the JGBs and that

has capped the yields from rising further. Back then, the BOJ's

ownership was much smaller."

Local media reported that Japan's ruling coalition was

struggling in the election campaign and could lose its majority.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration has seen

approval ratings slide as the rising cost of living, including

the soaring price of Japan's staple rice, hit households.

Yields on shorter-dated bonds rose to their highest levels

since early April, with the two-year JGB yield

rising 1 bp to 0.785% and the five-year yield

climbing 1 bp to 1.080%.