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Matthews Japan Fund

Snapshot
  • High-conviction growth strategy seeks alpha in Japan
  • Unconstrained all-cap approach seeking Japanese companies positioned to benefit from Asia's growth
  • Invests in companies leveraged to the fast growing consumer demand across Asia, global industry leaders and entrepreneurial companies providing innovative domestic solutions

30/04/2015

Inception Date

12.78%

YTD Return (USD)

(as of 17/07/2026)

$25.85

NAV (USD)

(as of 17/07/2026)

-0.84

1 Day NAV Change

(as of 17/07/2026)

Objective

Long-term capital appreciation.

Sustainability

The Fund promotes environmental and social characteristics according to Article 8 of SFDR. Furthermore, the Fund uses both activity- and norm-based exclusions. Information relating to the environmental and social characteristics of this Fund is available in the prospectus.

Strategy

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, directly or indirectly, at least 65% of its total net assets, in publicly traded common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities of companies located in Japan, and may invest the remainder of its net assets in other permitted assets on a worldwide basis.

Risks

The value of an investment in the Fund can go down as well as up and possible loss of principal is a risk of investing. Investments in international market securities may involve risks such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation. The Fund invests in holdings denominated in foreign currency, and is exposed to the risk that the value of the foreign currency will increase or decrease. The Fund invests primarily in equity securities, which may result in increased volatility. In addition, because the Fund concentrates its investments in a single-country, its share price may be more volatile, and more affected by political, economic and other events in the country in which it invests than that of funds that are not as geographically concentrated.

These and other risks associated with investing in the Fund can be found in the prospectus.

Fund Facts
Inception Date 30/04/2015
Fund Assets $150.67 million (30/06/2026)
Base Currency USD
ISIN: LU1220257130 (USD) LU1220257486 (GBP) LU1525503915 (USD Hedged)
Bloomberg Symbol MAFJFIU:LX (USD) MAFJFIG:LX (GBP) MAFJIHU:LX (USD Hedged)
Benchmark MSCI Japan Index
Geographic Focus Japan
SFDR Classification Article 8
Fees & Expenses
Management Fee 0.75%
Total Expense Ratio 0.80% ( USD ) 0.80% ( GBP ) 0.80% ( USD Hedged )

Performance

  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Calendar Year
  • Rolling 12 Month
    Returns
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As of 30/06/2026
Annualized Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Japan Fund (USD)
-1.07% 17.99% 16.45% 28.26% 20.67% 8.85% 9.34% 9.19% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (USD)
-0.31% 14.24% 15.97% 29.54% 18.90% 9.89% 10.23% 8.20%
Matthews Japan Fund (GBP)
0.42% 18.05% 18.55% 32.88% 18.88% 9.86% 9.46% 10.66% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (GBP)
1.25% 13.51% 17.53% 33.75% 17.21% 10.77% 10.31% 9.62%
Matthews Japan Fund (USD Hedged)
1.04% 21.22% 22.44% 48.93% 30.01% 21.19% n.a. 16.98% 03/04/2017
MSCI Japan Index 100% Hedged to USD (USD Hedged)
1.96% 17.59% 22.28% 50.73% 29.14% 22.93% n.a. 17.14%
As of 30/06/2026
Annualized Returns
Name 1MO 3MO YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR Since Inception Inception Date
Matthews Japan Fund (USD)
-1.07% 17.99% 16.45% 28.26% 20.67% 8.85% 9.34% 9.19% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (USD)
-0.31% 14.24% 15.97% 29.54% 18.90% 9.89% 10.23% 8.20%
Matthews Japan Fund (GBP)
0.42% 18.05% 18.55% 32.88% 18.88% 9.86% 9.46% 10.66% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (GBP)
1.25% 13.51% 17.53% 33.75% 17.21% 10.77% 10.31% 9.62%
Matthews Japan Fund (USD Hedged)
1.04% 21.22% 22.44% 48.93% 30.01% 21.19% n.a. 16.98% 03/04/2017
MSCI Japan Index 100% Hedged to USD (USD Hedged)
1.96% 17.59% 22.28% 50.73% 29.14% 22.93% n.a. 17.14%
For the years ended December 31st
Name 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Matthews Japan Fund (USD)
23.96% 16.58% 20.15% -26.87% -1.96% 32.83% 25.54% -20.58% 33.40% 0.19%
MSCI Japan Index (USD)
25.05% 8.68% 20.77% -16.31% 2.04% 14.91% 20.07% -12.58% 24.39% 2.73%
Matthews Japan Fund (GBP)
15.35% 18.26% 13.70% -18.12% -0.63% 28.30% 21.61% -16.16% 21.57% 20.43%
MSCI Japan Index (GBP)
16.44% 10.62% 13.96% -5.76% 2.98% 11.36% 15.44% -7.14% 13.62% 22.53%
Matthews Japan Fund (USD Hedged)
27.85% 33.63% 35.89% -14.54% 9.63% 25.29% 26.94% -20.85% n.a. n.a.
MSCI Japan Index 100% Hedged to USD (USD Hedged)
29.02% 27.09% 36.24% -1.62% 13.96% 10.14% 21.81% -13.31% n.a. n.a.
For the period ended 30/06/2026
Name 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 Inception Date
Matthews Japan Fund (USD)
28.26% 16.65% 17.45% 18.12% -26.39% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (USD)
29.54% 14.29% 13.53% 18.62% -19.64%
Matthews Japan Fund (GBP)
32.88% 7.61% 17.51% 13.05% -15.75% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (GBP)
33.75% 5.43% 14.18% 13.31% -8.59%
Matthews Japan Fund (USD Hedged)
48.93% 7.48% 37.29% 31.10% -9.26% 03/04/2017
MSCI Japan Index 100% Hedged to USD (USD Hedged)
50.73% 7.02% 33.52% 31.65% -1.00%

Source: Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A.

All returns over 1 year are annualized

Since inception performance for share classes with less than one year of history represents actual performance, not annualised. In addition, for share classes less than a year old, Year to Date Return is calculated since inception. Where no past performance is shown there was insufficient data available in that year to provide performance.

Performance details provided are based on a NAV-to-NAV basis with any dividends reinvested, and are net of management fees and other expenses. Performance data has been calculated in the respective currencies stated above, including ongoing charges and excluding subscription fee and redemption fee you might have to pay.

All performance quoted represents past performance and is not indicative of future performance. Investors may not get back the full amount invested. Investors investing in funds denominated in non-local currency should be aware of the risk of currency exchange fluctuations that may cause a loss of principal.

Additional performance, attribution, liquidity, value at risk (VaR), security classification and holdings information is available on request for certain time periods.

Portfolio Characteristics

(as of 30/06/2026)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Positions 52 168
Weighted Average Market Cap $88.4 billion $96.0 billion
Active Share 53.2 n.a.
P/E using FY1 estimates 18.0x 17.0x
P/E using FY2 estimates 15.8x 14.7x
Price/Cash Flow 15.4 13.4
Price/Book 2.4 2.0
Return On Equity 16.8 16.3
EPS Growth (3 Yr) 15.6% 15.8%

Sources: Factset Research Systems, Inc.

Risk Metrics (3 Yr Return)

(as of 30/06/2026)
0.33%
Alpha
1.11
Beta
118.39%
Upside Capture
118.41%
Downside Capture
0.93
Sharpe Ratio
0.37
Information Ratio
4.70%
Tracking Error
93.48

Fund Risk Metrics are reflective of Class I USD ACC shares.

Source: FactSet Research Systems

Top 10 Holdings

(as of 30/06/2026)
Name Sector % Net Assets
Tokyo Electron, Ltd. Information Technology 6.4
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. Financials 4.5
Advantest Corp. Information Technology 3.6
Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Industrials 3.4
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. Financials 3.3
Sony Group Corp. Consumer Discretionary 3.0
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. Materials 3.0
Kioxia Holdings Corp. Information Technology 3.0
Hitachi, Ltd. Industrials 2.9
Panasonic Holdings Corp. Consumer Discretionary 2.9
TOTAL 36.0

Top 10 holdings may combine more than one security from the same issuer and related depositary receipts.

Source: Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A

Portfolio Breakdown (%)

(as of 30/06/2026)
  • Sector Allocation
  • Market Cap Exposure
Sector Fund Benchmark Difference
Industrials 25.0 23.2 1.8
Information Technology 20.5 21.9 -1.4
Consumer Discretionary 17.9 14.3 3.6
Financials 17.7 17.6 0.1
Materials 4.7 4.1 0.6
Consumer Staples 3.2 3.5 -0.3
Real Estate 3.1 1.9 1.2
Communication Services 2.5 6.4 -3.9
Health Care 2.0 5.3 -3.3
Energy 0.6 0.8 -0.2
Utilities 0.0 1.0 -1.0
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 2.8 0.0 2.8

Sector data based on MSCI’s revised Global Industry Classification Standards. For more details, visit www.msci.com.

Equity market cap of issuer Fund Benchmark Difference
Mega Cap (over $25B) 68.9 80.1 -11.2
Large Cap ($10B-$25B) 14.3 16.3 -2.0
Mid Cap ($3B-$10B) 11.7 3.6 8.1
Small Cap (under $3B) 2.3 0.0 2.3
Cash and Other Assets, Less Liabilities 2.8 0.0 2.8

Source: FactSet Research Systems unless otherwise noted.
Percentage values in data are rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent, so the values may not sum to 100% due to rounding. Percentage values may be derived from different data sources and may not be consistent with other Fund literature.

ESG Characteristics

(as of 30/06/2026)
  • Business Involvement
  • Sustainability Attributes
Name Fund Benchmark Difference
Controversial Weapons
Fund Coverage: 98% Benchmark Coverage: 100%
0.0 0.0 0.0
Tobacco
Fund Coverage: 98% Benchmark Coverage: 100%
0.0 0.0 0.0
Name Fund Benchmark Difference
UN Global Compact Violators
Fund Coverage: 100% Benchmark Coverage: 100%
0.0 0.0 0.0
Board Diversity
Fund Coverage: 100% Benchmark Coverage: 100%
22.2 21.2 1.0

Board Diversity: Represents the weighted average ratio of female board members in investee companies.
Tobacco: Represents companies that generate more than 5% of revenue from tobacco manufacturing exposure to or production or that generate more than 50% of revenue from tobacco retail. 
UN Global Compact Violators: Represents companies that have been assessed as failing to comply with the 10 United Nations Global Compact Principles by ISS-ESG Norms-Based Research. Different ESG research providers may come to different conclusions on the severity of the violation.
Controversial weapons include companies with involvement in the following: anti-personnel mines; biological and chemical weapons; cluster weapons; depleted uranium; nuclear weapons and white phosphorus. A company is excluded if it is directly involved in the production, selling and/or distribution of (parts of) controversial weapons and this involvement concerns the core weapon system, or components/services of the core weapon system that are tailor-made and essential for the lethal use of the weapon.

Source: Sustainalytics, Factset, MSCI, Matthews Asia.

Sustainability-related Disclosures

This Fund Yes No
Complies with Article 8 of SFDR  
Investment process integrates ESG factors and sustainability risks based on proprietary and third-party research  
Applies norms- and activity-based exclusions  
Promotes environmental and social characteristics  
Has a sustainable investment objective  
Conducts engagement  
Exercises Voting Rights  

Investors should not invest in the Fund solely based on the information in this material alone. Please refer to the Prospectus for further details of the Fund’s investment objective and risk factors.

For more information, please refer to our Responsible Investment and Stewardship Policy and our ESG-Related Investment Policy of Matthews Asia Funds.

Portfolio Managers

Shuntaro  Takeuchi photo
Donghoon  Han photo

Commentary

Period ended 30 June 2026

Market Environment

  • Japan’s equity market generated robust returns for much of the quarter, supported by resilient corporate earnings and overseas inflows as global investors reallocated to Asia markets offering diversification and multiple sources of returns, including dividends and stock buybacks.
  • While Japan doesn’t have the same earnings growth outlook as South Korea and Taiwan, gains in the market were also supported by similar export themes, from AI-related hardware and industrial robotics to specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals and power infrastructure.
  • Late in the quarter, there was some rotation in the market away from technology-focused segments and into cyclical areas, including industrials and manufacturing, where growth is improving, and also into consumer discretionary sectors including autos.

Contributors and Detractors

  • For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the Japan Fund returned 17.99%, (I Acc USD) while its benchmark, the MSCI Japan Index, returned 14.24% over the same period.
  • On a sector basis, the top three contributors to relative performance were industrials, consumer discretionary and materials due to stock selection. The top three detractors were information technology (IT) due to stock selection, real estate due to an overweight allocation and financials due to stock selection.
  • The largest contributors to absolute performance included Tokyo Electron, an electronics company, Panasonic Holdings Corp., a consumer electronics company, and Recruit Holdings, a digital human resources (HR) company. The top three detractors included Marubeni Corp., a global trading company, Inpex Corp., an oil and gas producer, and Shionogi & Co., Ltd., a health-care company.

Outlook

  • Like other technology and export focused markets, Japanese equities have experienced volatility over concerns around the sustainability of the global AI buildout theme, reinforcing the importance of stock selection.
  • We believe it is also important to recognize the breadth and diversity of Japan’s equity market, which offers longer-term thematic trends, including AI and technology, defense and power generation, as well as opportunities in its large domestic economy and the consumer-related sectors.
  • Japan’s macro environment is also benefiting from inflationary growth for the first time in decades. The Takaichi government’s investment agenda, with a significant focus on AI and technology, could provide further demand in the economy.
  • Improvement in corporate governance also continues, sustaining increased dividends and buybacks and contributing to Japan’s appeal as a destination for total returns.
Rolling 12 Month Returns For the period ended 30/06/2026 - I (Acc)
Name 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 Inception Date
Matthews Japan Fund (USD)
28.26% 16.65% 17.45% 18.12% -26.39% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (USD)
29.54% 14.29% 13.53% 18.62% -19.64%
Matthews Japan Fund (GBP)
32.88% 7.61% 17.51% 13.05% -15.75% 30/04/2015
MSCI Japan Index (GBP)
33.75% 5.43% 14.18% 13.31% -8.59%
Matthews Japan Fund (USD Hedged)
48.93% 7.48% 37.29% 31.10% -9.26% 03/04/2017
MSCI Japan Index 100% Hedged to USD (USD Hedged)
50.73% 7.02% 33.52% 31.65% -1.00%

Sources: Brown Brothers Harriman (Luxembourg) S.C.A, Matthews Asia, FactSet Research Systems, Bloomberg

Performance figures discussed in the Fund Manager Commentary above reflect that of the Institutional Accumulation Class Shares and has been calculated in USD. Performance details provided for the Fund are based on a NAV-to-NAV basis, with any dividends reinvested, and are net of management fees and other expenses. Past performance information is not indicative of future performance. Investors may not get back the full amount invested.

The information contained herein has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of compilation, but no representation or warranty (express or implied) is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any of this information. Matthews Asia and its affiliates do not accept any liability for losses either direct or consequential caused by the use of this information.

Information contained herein is sourced from Matthews Asia unless otherwise stated. The views and opinions in this commentary were as of the report date, subject to change and may not reflect the writer’s current views. They are not guarantees of performance or investment results and should not be taken as investment advice. Investment decisions reflect a variety of factors, and the managers reserve the right to change their views about individual stocks, sectors, and the markets at any time. As a result, the views expressed should not be relied upon as a forecast of the Fund’s future investment intent. It should not be assumed that any investment will be profitable or will equal the performance of any securities or any sectors mentioned herein. The information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any securities mentioned.

Investors should not invest in the Fund solely based on the information in this material alone. Please refer to the Prospectus for further details of the risk factors. 

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