EUR/JPY - This is the forex quote for the Euro vs. Japanese Yen exchange rate. EUR (the 'base currency') is quoted in terms of JPY (the 'counter currency'). The Yen is a historically low-yielding currency, making an attractive vehicle to fund carry trades (where traders borrow cheaply in JPY to buy higher-yielding currencies, including EUR.
Investors tend to favor carry trades at times of optimism about global economic performance and stability; they shun them at times of market stress. This makes EUR/JPY sensitive to swings in broad-based market sentiment trends.
The pair may likewise find volatility in news-flow related to the Eurozone debt crisis as well the extraordinary anti-deflation policy efforts from the Bank of Japan introduced in 2013.