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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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EWJ vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to GOVT's −1.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $42.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.

EWJ on its own →GOVT on its own →
At a glance
+18.1%
EWJ total return, 1 year
−1.5%
GOVT total return, 1 year
0.49%
EWJ expense ratio
0.05%
GOVT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.44 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.6 points; GOVT is 1.8 times larger.

EWJ vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureEWJGOVT
Return
Total return, 1 year+18.1%−1.5%
Drawdown
Below its high4.4%, high on Oct 6, 20268.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
What it tracksMSCI Japan IndexICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.49%0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$23.8bn$42.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
In the S&P 500, by weight0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund29.5%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and GOVT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EWJ GOVT
Only in one fund ↓
Only in EWJ
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%
TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%
ADVANTEST 3.03%
HITACHI 3.03%
RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%
SONY GROUP 2.89%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%
TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%
Only in GOVT
TREASURY NOTE 5.17%
TREASURY NOTE 2.98%
TREASURY NOTE 2.12%
TREASURY NOTE 1.95%
TREASURY NOTE 1.65%
TREASURY BOND 1.51%
TREASURY BOND 1.46%
TREASURY BOND 1.42%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF
Issuer iShares iShares
What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond
Total return, 1 year +18.1% −1.5%
Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) not measured
Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX not measured
Expense ratio 0.49% 0.05%
Holdings 169 229
Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and GOVT as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $42.8bn

EWJ and GOVT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

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About each fund
EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

GOVT

GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or GOVT?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and GOVT −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or GOVT?
GOVT is cheaper, by 0.44 percentage points a year. That is about $44 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
EWJ vs IEFEWJ vs VGITEWJ vs VGSHEWJ vs JAAAEWT vs GOVTEWZ vs GOVTEZU vs GOVTGOVT vs VPL
Where to next
EWJ on its own →GOVT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EWJ dividend history →EWJ holdings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for EWJ ↗
GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for GOVT ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EWJ against GOVT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-govt

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.