Japan keeps expanding

Article Excerpt

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $53.40 (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, 4.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.5%; Softbank Corp., 2.1%; KDDI Corp. (telecom), 2.0%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 1.6%; Sony Corp., 1.5%; Honda Motor, 1.5%; Japan Tobacco, 1.5%; Mizuho Financial Group, 1.4%; and Keyence Corp., 1.3%. In the long term, Japan faces a labour shortage as its population ages and it remains closed to immigration. However, the country’s economy has expanded for five consecutive quarters. That’s largely due to the Bank of Japan’s aggressive expansion of the money supply over the past few years. As well, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has increased government stimulus spending. 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…