Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or IJR?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IJR +17.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or IJR?

IJR is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EWJ and IJR overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 0% of IJR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to IJR's +17.5%; 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 $104.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF.

EWJ on its own →IJR on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+17.5%

IJR total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.06%

IJR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IJR costs 0.43 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; IJR is 4.4 times larger.

EWJ vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	IJR
Return
Measure	EWJ	IJR
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+17.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	IJR
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	6.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	IJR
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	S&P SmallCap 600
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	IJR
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$104.6bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	IJR
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	5.3%

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

What they share

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

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EWJ IJR

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 IJR

GLAUKOS 0.61%

PAYCOM SOFTWARE 0.57%

MATCH GROUP INC 0.57%

VIASAT INC 0.55%

SM ENERGY 0.53%

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS 0.52%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES REIT 0.51%

JACKSON FINANCIAL CLASS A 0.48%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks the S&P SmallCap 600

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +17.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) +17.6% (SPSM)

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX −0.1 pts vs SPSM

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.06%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 169 642

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and IJR as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $104.6bn

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

Alert

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.

IJR

IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% 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 642 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or IJR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IJR +17.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or IJR?: IJR is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and IJR overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 0% of IJR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs VB EWJ vs IWM EWJ vs VTWO EWJ vs IJT EWT vs IJR EWZ vs IJR EZU vs IJR IJR vs VPL

Where to next

EWJ on its own →IJR on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EWJ dividend history →EWJ holdings →IJR dividend history →IJR holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

IJR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IJR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IJR ↗

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.

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

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