By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) -Investors in Japan's government bond market are getting a glimpse of life without heavy intervention by the Bank of Japan, which is showing little sign of reverting to a hands-on approach despite the recent steady rise in long-term interest rates.

Hawkish comments from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and sticky inflation are lifting bond yields to multi-year highs and pushing forward rate hike expectations, shaking long-held views that rates would not rise much in the historically deflation-prone economy.

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda promised to respond to abnormal rises in bond yields, as expectations for monetary tightening sent Japanese government bond yields to multiyear highs.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday the central bank stands ready to increase government bond buying if long-term interest rates rise sharply.