JPXN vs SCJ

JPXNAiShares JPX-Nikkei 400 ETF

SCJAiShares MSCI Japan Small-Cap ETF

In short

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.

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

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.

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

Why people hold it

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 JPXN profile⁠

Full SCJ profile⁠