iShares MSCI Japan ETF
$97.14−1.65 (−1.67%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.49%
- Fund size
- $23.5B
- 1Y return
- +26.9%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 3.61%
- Holdings
- 167
- Volume · 30D
- 4.8M sh
- NAV per share
- $98.33
- 52W range
The ETF.net EWJ Grade
Score 71 of 100 sits in the A band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.
Cost
What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.BScore 56Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 100Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 42Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.AScore 95Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.CScore 51Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 90Category rank
Our read on EWJ
AThe 1996 original. iShares' Japan fund was the default way to own Tokyo's biggest names before most of its rivals existed, and it still trades like it: roughly 170 large and mid-cap stocks, yen exposure unhedged.
The fund seeks to track an index of Japanese equities, providing targeted exposure to companies in Japan.
Why people hold it
- Launched in 1996 and still one of the most heavily traded funds in the Japan category, which generally means tight spreads and room to trade size.
- Tracks the MSCI Japan Index closely, holding roughly 170 large and mid-cap Japanese companies.
- A multi-billion-dollar iShares fund: the kind of scale and sponsorship that keeps a product well supported.
Worth knowing
- Cheaper Japan beta exists. FLJP charges 0.09% and BBJP 0.19% against this fund's 0.49%. The extra fee buys the liquidity and the long record.
- No currency hedge here, so yen moves against the dollar flow straight into the return, up or down. Hedged Japan funds such as FLJH take the other approach.
- One country, roughly 170 names, and cash comes back only once or twice a year rather than quarterly.
EWJ Holdings
- Stocks
- 167
- 30%
- 8306.T
Sectors
- Industrials22.9%
- Technology21.5%
- Financials19.1%
- Consumer Discr.11.6%
- Communication9.3%
- Health Care5.4%
- Cons. Staples3.5%
- Materials2.9%
- Real Estate1.8%
- Utilities1.0%
- Energy0.9%
Geography
- Japan99.99%
- United States0.01%
Developed 100% · Emerging 0%
EWJ Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
EWJ$12,685
Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | EWJ |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +23.0% |
| 1 month | +3.8% |
| 3 months | +1.9% |
| 1 year | +26.9% |
| 3 years | +20.4% |
| 5 years | +9.0% |
| 10 years | +8.9% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | EWJ |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +23.0% | |
| 2025 | +25.9% | |
| 2024 | +7.0% | |
| 2023 | +20.3% | |
| 2022 | −17.7% | |
| 2021 | +1.2% | |
| 2020 | +15.4% |
EWJ in the news
EWJ Dividends
- 3.61%
- $3.56
- $0.50 per share
- Annual
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | Jun 18, 2026 | $0.50 |
| Dec 16, 2025 | Dec 19, 2025 | $3.06 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | Jun 20, 2025 | $0.59 |
| Dec 17, 2024 | Dec 20, 2024 | $1.06 |
| Jun 11, 2024 | Jun 17, 2024 | $0.51 |
| Dec 20, 2023 | Dec 27, 2023 | $0.87 |
| Jun 7, 2023 | Jun 13, 2023 | $0.43 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | Dec 19, 2022 | $0.12 |
| Jun 9, 2022 | Jun 15, 2022 | $0.55 |
| Dec 13, 2021 | Dec 17, 2021 | $0.89 |
| Jun 10, 2021 | Jun 16, 2021 | $0.50 |
| Dec 14, 2020 | Dec 18, 2020 | $0.26 |
EWJ Risk
- 12.4%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.12
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −32.0%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.83
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
EWJ Cost
0.49%
EWJ0.49%
- The middle half of Japan funds
- Median 0.54%
7 of the 18 Japan funds charge less.