Buy the best of Japan

Article Excerpt

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $61.12 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan Index. The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 4.6%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.4%; Softbank, 2.1%; Honda Motor, 1.6%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 1.6%; Sony Corp., 1.6%; Keyence Corp., 1.5%; Fanuc Corp., 1.3%; and KDDI Corp. (telecom), 1.3%. The ETF’s MER is 0.49%. In the long term, Japan faces a labour shortage as its population ages and it remains closed to immigration. However, the country’s economy continues to expand and corporate earnings keep rising. Exporters also continue to gain from a weak yen, which makes their goods more attractive to overseas buyers. iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy. buy…