* Yosano says govt cannot control long term bond yields
* Econ Min Hayashi: too early to say Japan in deflation (Adds background, quotes)
TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said on Tuesday he was not concerned about recent moves in long-term interest rates, which have climbed on concern of possible rises in government bond issuance.
Japanese government bonds have been on the defensive over the past month, hit by a bullish run-up in the Nikkei average as well as concern that a change in government after an Aug. 30 general election could lead to extra debt issuance.
"The recent moves have been trivial. I'm not particularly concerned about them," Yosano said, .
The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose to 1.455 percent on Tuesday, its highest in about six weeks.
"Governments cannot control long-term interest rate levels... It is determined by markets, reflecting expectations of growth and inflation," Yosano told a mews conference.
"The important thing is confidence in the government's zeal for fiscal reform. That is helping to keep long-term bond yields around 1.4 percent," he said.
Optimism on the economy lifted Japanese share prices to a 10-month high on Tuesday, helped by stronger-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) data due later this month is expected to show the world's second-largest economy grew for the first time in five quarters, putting Japan out of recession ahead of other major countries.
Economics Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday it was too early to say Japan was in deflation because price declines were still mild when excluding food and energy.
"I realise that the core CPI is falling a lot when compared with the previous year," Hayashi told a news conference after a cabinet meeting.
"However, if you look at so-called core-core prices compared to the previous month, they show it's too early to say we are in deflation."
Japan's core consumer price index fell a record 1.7 percent in the year to June, data showed last week.
While energy costs accounted for much of the fall, private-sector economists said weakening household demand for goods was playing an increasing part in pushing the nation deeper into its second bout of deflation in a decade.
The core-core CPI in June, which is similar to underlying inflation indicators used in Europe and North America, fell 0.2 percent from the previous month for the first decline in four months, government data also showed.
Hayashi said it was important for policy makers to narrow the gap between supply and demand to avoid deflation. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano and Stanley White; Editing by Hugh Lawson)