TOKYO -- The recent upheaval in the U.S. and European banking sectors is pushing investors toward the safety of the yen, as they see Japan's low-interest-rate environment as a shelter from the risks emerging elsewhere.
The yen has strengthened the most among the 25 major currencies in the trade-weighted Nikkei Currency Index since the end of February, rising 3.2% as of Thursday. It has gained against the dollar specifically, touching a month-and-a-half high beyond 130 to the greenback at one point Friday.
