JGB yields retreat after BOJ's Himino refrains from specifying next rate hike timing

"Himino did not say anything more than what was already known. The market expectations for the BOJ's interest rate hikes did not change," said Masahito Sugawara, senior analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The two-year yield JP2YTN=JBTC, sensitive to policy rates, turned flat at 1.685%, after hitting 1.7% earlier in the session.

The five-year yield JP5YTN=JBTC was last up 1 bp to 2.155%, down from 2.165% earlier in the day. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The closely watched yen JPY= weakened to 159.395 per dollar from the session high of 158.885.

The yields declined as traders who had expected hawkish comments from Himino covered their short positions after his speech, said Masayuki Koguchi, executive fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management.

The market's focus will shift to comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who will attend next week's G20 finance leaders' gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, he said.

Japanese government bond yields retreated from session highs on Thursday after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino did not indicate the timing for the central bank's next interest rate hike while stressing the need for timely hikes.

In a closely monitored speech, Himino said "in-depth deliberations" on price pressures should be held at each policy meeting.

His comments reinforced dominant market expectations for a near-term increase in borrowing costs, but fell short of expectations that he would indicate a rate hike at the BOJ's September policy meeting.

Bets for the faster-paced interest rate hike have grown after joint Japanese-U.S. efforts to shore up the battered yen in July, which sent the two-year JGB yield to a 31-year high and the five-year yield to a record this month.