TOKYO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Long-dated Japanese government bond prices were slightly firmer on Tuesday after an auction of 10-year JGBs attracted solid demand though the shorter end was softer in line with reduced buying in the sector by the Bank of Japan.

The 10-year JGB futures firmed 0.04 point to 148.57. In the cash bond market, the yield on the current 10-year bond dipped 0.5 basis point to 0.295 percent .

The auction of 2.4 trillion yen ($19.52 billion) 10-year bonds maturing in December 2025 attracted bids 3.56 times the offer, above the bid-to-cover ratio of 2.80 in the 10-year bond auction last month.

The lowest accepted price of 99.78 at the auction was in line with market expectations.

The five-year cash bond yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.040 percent.

The Bank of Japan said on Monday that it plans to buy 350 billion yen ($2.85 billion) of bonds with three to five years left to maturity for the time being this month, 50 billion yen less than before.

($1 = 122.9400 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo Markets Team; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)