Buy Japan’s top performers

Article Excerpt

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $50.28, is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) aims for the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan Index. The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.1%; Sony Corp., 2.9%; Keyence (sensors), 2.6%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.0%; Daiichi Sankyo (pharma), 2.0%; Softbank, 1.8%; KDDI (telecom), 1.7%; Nintendo (gaming), 1.6%; and Recruit Holdings (human resources), 1.5%. The ETF’s MER is a relatively low 0.50%. Japan’s outlook is improving as the country opens its domestic economy and its borders to businesses, travellers and tourists. Meanwhile, despite supply-chain bottlenecks, the war in Ukraine, pandemic lockdowns in China, and higher global inflation and interest rates, Japan is now benefiting from the weaker yen and the boost that provides its exports. iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy. buy. …