TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - Benchmark Japanese government bonds edged down on Wednesday, while longer maturities performed better, largely shrugging off the Bank of Japan's widely expected decision to hold policy steady.
The current 10-year yield added half a basis point to 0.360 percent while 10-year JGB futures inched down 0.07 point to 147.58.
Undermining the appeal of bonds, the Nikkei stock average hit a 15-year high.
The 20-year JGB yield edged down half a basis point to 1.125 percent. The 30-year yield shed 1.5 basis points to 1.370 percent, though gains were capped by caution ahead of the Ministry of Finance's monthly sale of that tenor on Thursday.
The Bank of Japan refrained from bond-buying operations on Wednesday, as it usually does on days it concludes its policy board meetings.
As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its massive stimulus by an 8 to 1 vote, pledging to increase base money at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($670 billion) through purchases of JGBs and risk assets.
Board member Takahide Kiuchi, who has expressed concerns that massive money printing could sow the seeds of a future bubble, was the lone voice calling for the BOJ to cut back its asset buying.
(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)