The March 10-year JGB futures contract shed 0.27 point to 138.45, not far from a seven-week low of 138.36 hit on February 15.
At 0600 GMT, the close of futures trade, the yield on the benchmark 10-year cash JGBs was up 3.0 basis points at 1.445 percent, near 1.465 percent, or the high end of the yield's range in the last three months. The yield curve steepened.
The five-year yield rose 2.5 basis points to 0.610 percent while the 20-year JGB yield gained 3.0 basis points to 2.085 percent.
The 30-year yield rose as much as 5.0 basis points at one stage to 2.470 percent, the highest level since November 16. At 0600 GMT, it was up 4.0 basis points at 2.460 percent. Triggering the steepening was the fall in long US Treasury prices on the back of a jump in a US inflation gauge on Friday.
The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to a five-week high on data showing annual growth in US producer prices in January spiked to 2.7 percent, its fastest pace since 1995. "If US long-term yields continue to rise, the JGB market could see further curve steepening," said Naomi Hasegawa, senior fixed income strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.
The Japanese Finance Ministry will offer 600 billion yen ($5.68 billion) of 20-year bonds on Tuesday.
At current market levels, the coupon would likely be set at 2.1 percent, compared to 2.0 percent in the last two issues. Some analysts say a 2.1 percent coupon should attract decent demand from such buyers as pension funds and life insurers seeking higher coupon income.
Still, recent firmness in Japanese share prices is eroding the attraction of low-risk low-return bonds.