FLJP vs JPXN

FLJPAFranklin FTSE Japan ETF

JPXNAiShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF

In short

FLJP Japan's whole market for nine basis points. FLJP tracks the FTSE Japan RIC Capped Index across roughly 500 stocks at 0.09%, a fraction of what the typical Japan fund charges.

JPXN Most Japan ETFs just buy Tokyo. JPXN follows the JPX-Nikkei 400, an index that screens for profitability and shareholder-oriented practices, making it the corporate-reform cut of Japan rather than plain country beta.

Stated mandate

FLJP The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE Japan RIC Capped Index.

JPXN JPXN seeks to follow an index of Japanese equities that applies profitability and shareholder-oriented practice screens. It is intended to provide targeted exposure to Japan as a single-country allocation.

Why people hold it

• FLJP 0.09% a year, against a Japan-cohort median near 0.50%. Same country, same broad exposure, a fraction of the toll.
• Roughly 500 names via the FTSE Japan RIC Capped Index, whose capping rules trim outsized positions so no single stock runs away with the portfolio.
• Running since 2017 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, it tracks its index tightly and ranks among the strongest builds in its Japan peer group.
• Cheaper than the bigger brand-name Japan trackers it competes with, including EWJ at 0.49% and BBJP at 0.19%.

• JPXN The screen picks on capital discipline, not just size: about 400 Japanese companies filtered for profitability and shareholder-oriented management.
• 0.48% a year, a touch below the typical single-country Japan fund, which is unusual for a screened index rather than a plain market cap build.
• Listed since 2001, it is one of the longer-running US-listed Japan funds, and it has tracked its stated index closely with no side bets.
• Sits among the stronger implementations in a Japan single-country peer group that runs to well over a dozen funds.

Worth knowing

• FLJP The yen rides along. Currency moves hit returns here; Franklin's hedged twin, FLJH, strips that out for the same 0.09%.
• One country, one market cycle. Everything inside depends on Japan, so this is a slice of a portfolio rather than a diversified core.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so cash flow arrives in lumps.

• JPXN Broad Japan trackers cost far less: FLJP at 0.09% and BBJP at 0.19%. The profitability and governance screen is what the extra fee buys.
• It trades lightly next to the giant Japan funds, so bid-ask spreads matter more here than with the category heavyweights.
• One country, one screen. Japanese equities only, so it moves with Japan's market and offers no cushion from other regions.

Full FLJP profile⁠

Full JPXN profile⁠