Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
EWJ vs SHY: how they differ
EWJ and SHY hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and SHY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in EWJ | Only in SHY |
|---|---|
| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% | United States of America 1.97% |
| TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% | United States of America 1.86% |
| SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% | United States of America 1.72% |
| Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% | United States of America 1.62% |
| Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% | United States of America 1.61% |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% | United States of America 1.53% |
| Sony Group Corporation 2.56% | United States of America 1.49% |
| ADVANTEST CORPORATION 2.41% | United States of America 1.47% |
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.
| EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | iShares |
| What it is | MSCI Japan | 1-3 Year Treasury Bond |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.5% | +1.7% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +9.0 pts | −15.8 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.15% |
| Holdings | 179 | 89 |
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%.
SHY in plain words
SHY is a bond fund tracking the 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or SHY?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +26.5% and SHY returned +1.7%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or SHY?
- EWJ charges 0.49% a year and SHY charges 0.15%, so SHY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where to next
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, EWJ against SHY, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EWJ-SHY Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources