ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $9.50 (American Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an exchange traded fund that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.
The fund’s top holdings include Toyota Motor, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.8%; Honda Motor, 2.7%; Canon, 2.2%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.1%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.8%; Takeda Pharmaceutical, 1.7%; Softbank Corp., 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.5%; and Mitsubishi Corporation, 1.5%.
The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Industrials, 20.4%; Consumer Discretionary, 19.9%; Financials, 17.4%; Information Technology, 11.9%; Materials, 6.7%; Health Care, 6.7%; Consumer Staples, 6.6%; Telecommunication Services, 4.4%; Utilities, 3.6%; and Energy, 1.6%.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund was launched on March 12, 1996. Its expense ratio is 0.51%.
Japan has mostly recovered from two major setbacks: the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which slowed exports, and floods late last year in Thailand that hurt its major electronics makers. Japan’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.1% in the first quarter of 2012. Its long-term outlook is positive.
iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy.
