Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
EEM vs EWJ: how they differ
EEM and EWJ hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EEM returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and iShares MSCI Japan ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, EEM and EWJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in EEM | Only in EWJ |
|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Compa 14.28% | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% |
| SK hynix Inc. 6.65% | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% |
| Tencent Holdings Limited 2.71% | SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% |
| Alibaba Group Holding Limited 2.08% | Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% |
| MediaTek Inc. 1.62% | Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% |
| DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC. 1.17% | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% |
| HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 0.90% | Sony Group Corporation 2.56% |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 0.85% | ADVANTEST CORPORATION 2.41% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026.
| EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | iShares |
| What it is | Emerging markets | MSCI Japan |
| Total return, 1 year | +32.3% | +26.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +14.8 pts | +9.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.72% | 0.49% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 1245 | 179 |
EEM in plain words
EEM is an index equity fund tracking the Emerging markets. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +32.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.72% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1245 positions, with the top ten at 38.9%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
EWJ in plain words
EWJ is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +26.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 179 positions, with the top ten at 28.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EEM or EWJ?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +32.3% and EWJ returned +26.5%, so EEM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, EEM or EWJ?
- EEM charges 0.72% a year and EWJ charges 0.49%, so EWJ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do EEM and EWJ overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EEM and 0% of EWJ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, EEM against EWJ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EEM-EWJ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources