JPAN vs SCJ: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Matthews Japan Active ETF JPAN

JPANCNYSE Arca

iShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF

SCJANYSE Arca

Overlap

3.1%by weight

Expense ratio

SCJ −0.29pt a year

JPAN0.79%SCJ0.50%

Avg volume · 30D

SCJ 26.6×the volume

JPAN1.45KSCJ38.6K

3Y return · a year

JPAN +3.2pt

JPAN+22.3%SCJ+19.1%

JPAN vs SCJ Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+15.4%JPAN+18.0%SCJ

Expense ratio: JPAN 0.79%; SCJ 0.50%, better
Fund size: JPAN $11M; SCJ $221M
1Y total return: JPAN +15.4%; SCJ +18.0%, better
Yield (12M): JPAN 4.45%, better; SCJ 2.79%
Holdings: JPAN 52; SCJ 767
Avg volume (30D): JPAN 1.45K sh; SCJ 38.6K sh, better
NAV per share: JPAN $38.73; SCJ $100.33
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for JPAN, SCJ, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	JPAN	SCJ
Cost30% weight	D26	B56Higher
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	A97
Risk15% weight	C44	A75Higher
Tradability15% weight	F7	A77Higher
Holdings10% weight	D35	A85Higher
Durability5% weight	D26	B64Higher

Rank among Japan funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. JPAN and SCJ are both graded against the same 18 Japan funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Japan⁠

Category · 18 funds

See all 18 ›

SCJ ranks 3rd and JPAN 14th of 18 funds in the Japan Category.

Rank 1AFLJPFranklin FTSE Japan ETFScore 83
Rank 2ABBJPJPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETFScore 81
Rank 3ASCJiShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETFScore 75
Rank 4AFLJHFranklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETFScore 74
Rank 12CJPYLazard Japanese Equity ETFScore 49
Rank 14CJPANMatthews Japan Active ETF JPANScore 45
Rank 15CMJSCMUFG Japan Small Cap Active ETFScore 44

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

JPANCMatthews Japan Active ETF JPAN

SCJAiShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF

In short

JPAN The Japan aisle is stacked with cheap index trackers. JPAN is the other thing: an active, stock-picked Japan portfolio from an Asia-only shop, launched in 2023 and priced like the research effort it is.

SCJ Japan past the household-name exporters. SCJ holds roughly 800 of the country's smaller listed companies, the domestic slice that large-cap Japan benchmarks leave out, and it has been running that mandate since 2007.

Stated mandate

JPAN The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

SCJ The fund seeks to track an index composed of small-capitalization Japanese equities.

Why people hold it

JPAN Actively managed by Matthews, a firm built around Asia, with one stated job: long-term capital appreciation from Japanese equities.
The portfolio stays inside the Japan mandate on the label, with no drift into the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Standard 1940 Act fund structure: no leverage, no commodity-pool plumbing, no derivative overlay to decode.

SCJ One job, done tightly: it tracks the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index, roughly 800 names deep, the part of the market big blue-chip Japan benchmarks leave on the floor.ishares.com
Trading since 2007, so there is a long live record here, not a backtest, and it has stayed tight to its index over that stretch.
About 800 holdings means no single stock carries the portfolio, and the 0.50% fee sits right at the median for single-country Japan funds.

Worth knowing

JPAN At 0.79% a year it sits well above the typical Japan ETF, where index rivals like FLJP (0.09%) and BBJP (0.19%) set the floor.
A small, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than the giant index names in the same aisle.
Launched in 2023, so the record is short, and cash comes back once or twice a year rather than quarterly.

SCJ 0.50% a year is the going rate for the niche, but broad Japan trackers like FLJP (0.09%) and BBJP (0.19%) charge a fraction. Small-cap coverage is the upcharge.
Moderately traded, and Tokyo is closed while US markets are open, so spreads and price-to-value gaps can widen at the edges of the session.
Unhedged: the holdings are priced in yen, so currency swings land on top of the stock moves, in both directions. Distributions come once or twice a year.ishares.com

Full JPAN profile⁠

Full SCJ profile⁠

JPAN vs SCJ Holdings

How JPAN and SCJ differ

Overlap by weight

3.1%

Shared holdings make up 10.7% of JPAN and 3.1% of SCJ.

Level by level

Holdings10 in both3.1%
Sector11 Sectors76.2%
Asset classStocks100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in JPAN and SCJ, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	JPAN	SCJ
Financials	JPAN +9.3 points	20.9%	11.6%
Technology	JPAN +9.3 points	21.3%	12.0%
Materials	SCJ +8.2 points	1.9%	10.2%
Communication	JPAN +4.9 points	7.9%	3.0%
Real Estate	SCJ +4.9 points	2.2%	7.1%
Consumer Staples	SCJ +4.6 points	4.0%	8.7%
Utilities	SCJ +2.1 points	0.0%	2.1%
Consumer Discretionary	SCJ +1.6 points	13.4%	15.0%
Industrials	SCJ +1.5 points	23.5%	25.0%
Energy	SCJ +0.8 points	0.0%	0.8%
Health Care	JPAN +0.3 points	4.8%	4.5%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in JPAN and SCJ, widest gap first
Country	More in JPANMore in SCJ	Gap	JPAN	SCJ
Japan		Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Outside the US: JPAN 100% developed, 0% emerging. SCJ 100% developed, 0% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

JPAN39.1%
SCJ6.3%

Securities held

JPAN51
SCJ764

Asset class

JPAN: Stocks
SCJ: Stocks

Holdings

Only in JPAN41
In both10
Only in SCJ754

Only in JPAN

41 securities, 85.9% of JPAN by weight

Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.4.85%
Sony Group Corp.4.76%
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group, Inc.4.23%
Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc.4.04%
Hitachi, Ltd.3.65%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.3.61%
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.3.61%
Advantest Corp.3.59%
Mitsubishi Corp.3.27%
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.2.67%
Nec Corp.2.64%
Sumitomo Corp.2.63%
Asics Corp.2.55%
Keyence Corp.2.44%
East Japan Railway Co.2.30%
Konami Group Corp.2.23%
Kao Corp.2.13%
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.2.10%
Tokyo Electron, Ltd.2.02%
Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.1.96%
Panasonic Holdings Corp.1.93%
Toyota Tsusho Corp.1.84%
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.1.84%
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.1.69%
Shionogi & Co., Ltd.1.58%
Terumo Corp.1.41%
Kioxia Holdings Corp.1.39%
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.1.36%
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.1.27%
Orix Corp.1.23%
Resonac Holdings Corp.1.17%
Isuzu Motors, Ltd.1.10%
Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.0.91%
Archion Corp.0.89%
Go, Inc.0.88%
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.0.83%
Japan Steel Works, Ltd.0.78%
Nomura Holdings, Inc.0.76%
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.0.71%
Ns Group, Inc.0.60%
Softbank Group Corp.0.46%

Only in SCJ

754 securities, 95.8% of SCJ by weight

Baycurrent Inc0.82%
Shizuoka Financial Group Inc0.61%
Mebuki Financial Group Inc0.58%
Nippon Express Holdings0.56%
Fukuoka Financial Group0.53%
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings0.52%
Jfe Holdings0.51%
Meiji Holdings Ltd0.51%
Shimadzu0.50%
Sysmex0.48%
Sojitz Corp0.48%
Sekisui Chemical0.47%
Brother Industries0.47%
Ngk0.46%
Toyo Suisan Ltd0.46%
Ono Pharmaceutical0.45%
Kyoto Financial Group0.44%
Rohm0.44%
Ricoh0.43%
Nissan Chemical Corp0.43%
Hachijuni Nagano Bank0.43%
Asahi Intecc0.42%
Matsukiyokara0.42%
Taiyo Yuden Ltd0.42%
Omron0.41%
Trend Micro0.41%
Skylark Holdings0.41%
Sony Financial Group Inc0.40%
Kyuden Holdings0.40%
Tokyu0.40%
Gunma Bank0.39%
Japan Metropolitan Fund Investment0.39%
Dentsu Group0.39%
Yaskawa Electric0.39%
Tisi0.39%
Seiko Epson0.39%
Mcdonalds Holdings (Japan) Ltd0.38%
Seibu Holdings0.38%
Toto Ltd0.37%
Square Enix Hldg0.37%
Kobe Steel0.36%
Hokuhoku Financial Group Inc0.36%
Japan Real Estate Investment Trust0.36%
Tokyu Fudosan Holdings0.35%
M3 Inc0.35%
Sumitomo Chemical0.35%
Uss0.35%
Sapporo Breweries Limited0.34%
Horiba0.34%
Sanwa Holdings0.34%

Weight gaps

All 10 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in JPAN and SCJ, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	JPAN	SCJ
Misumi Group, Inc.	JPAN +1.79 points	2.30%	0.51%
Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.	JPAN +1.43 points	1.86%	0.43%
Niterra Co., Ltd.	JPAN +1.23 points	1.79%	0.56%
Infroneer Holdings, Inc.	JPAN +0.81 points	1.09%	0.28%
Food & Life Cos., Ltd.	JPAN +0.67 points	1.22%	0.55%
Kinden Corp.	JPAN +0.54 points	0.84%	0.30%
Timee, Inc.	JPAN +0.41 points	0.45%	0.04%
Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.	JPAN +0.25 points	0.50%	0.25%
Socionext, Inc.	JPAN +0.21 points	0.35%	0.14%
Itoki Corp.	JPAN +0.22 points	0.26%	0.04%

All JPAN holdings⁠All 764 SCJ holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

JPAN vs SCJ Cost

Overpaying JPAN vs SCJ

$5,195

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

JPAN 0.79%
$15,174
SCJ 0.50%
$9,979

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

JPAN 0.79%
SCJ 0.50%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	JPAN	SCJ	Overpaying
10	$1,405	$900	$505
20	$5,331	$3,460	$1,871
30	$15,174	$9,979	$5,195

Expense ratio

0.79%JPAN
0.50%SCJ, cheaper

SCJ0.50%JPAN0.79%

0.09%1.92%

Middle half of Japan funds
Median 0.54%

SCJ 9th cheapest of 18 funds

JPAN 13th cheapest of 18 funds

JPAN vs SCJ Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): JPAN 4.45%, better; SCJ 2.79%
Payout (12M): JPAN $1.83; SCJ $2.92
Last payment: JPAN $1.83; SCJ $0.92
Ex-dividend: JPAN Dec 17, 2025; SCJ Jun 15, 2026
Paid on: JPAN Dec 22, 2025; SCJ Jun 18, 2026
Frequency: JPAN Annual; SCJ Twice a year

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

JPANAnnual · 3 paymentsAll JPAN payments⁠

SCJTwice a year · 17 paymentsAll SCJ payments⁠

JPAN vs SCJ Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: JPAN 14.7%SCJ 13.1%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: JPAN 1.20, betterSCJ 1.08
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: JPAN −15.2%since Sep 2023SCJ −27.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: JPAN 0.86SCJ 0.83; Market = 1

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