Inflation-Adjusted Japan ETF (EWJ)

The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) provides exposure to large and mid-cap Japanese stocks across various sectors, tracking the MSCI Japan Index.

While nominal investment returns may appear impressive over decades, they often disguise inflation's impact on actual purchasing power. This page adjusts the historical price of EWJ for inflation, using the US Consumer Price Index to reveal its real performance over time.

Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use December 2025 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the iShares MSCI Japan ETF is 85.21 (as of the close of Jan 28, 2026), 0.73% lower than the all-time high of 85.84 (Jan 27, 2026).

While the nominal high reached 85.84, the inflation-adjusted peak value was 92.96 on April 26, 1996.

Since March 18, 1996, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 0.02%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 0%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 108.18%, or an annualized rate of 2.49%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. Inflation-adjusted figures show what past levels would be worth using roughly today's purchasing power (based on the latest CPI data). The latest entry in the table will have equal nominal and adjusted values until the next CPI figures are released.

Date	Inflation-Adjusted	Nominal value
Jan 2026	85.21	85.21
Dec 2025	80.74	80.74
Nov 2025	80.1	80.12
Oct 2025	80.54	80.54
Sep 2025	77.24	77.42
Aug 2025	75.57	75.55
Jul 2025	71.28	71.06
Jun 2025	72.7	72.36
May 2025	71.54	70.97
Apr 2025	69.09	68.39
Mar 2025	66.52	65.65
Feb 2025	66.58	65.56
Jan 2025	66.72	65.41
Dec 2024	65.97	64.25
Nov 2024	67.5	65.72
Oct 2024	65.9	64.19
Sep 2024	69.33	67.46
Aug 2024	69.86	67.87
Jul 2024	68.95	66.92
Jun 2024	66.37	64.35
May 2024	66.62	64.56
Apr 2024	65.08	62.97
Mar 2024	69.3	66.79
Feb 2024	67.57	64.7
Jan 2024	65.12	61.98
Dec 2023	63.43	60.04
Nov 2023	61.01	57.81
Oct 2023	57.34	54.44
Sep 2023	58.61	55.67
Aug 2023	60.07	56.92
Jul 2023	62.08	58.56
Jun 2023	60.7	57.16
May 2023	57.99	54.42
Apr 2023	57.64	53.96
Mar 2023	57.79	53.82
Feb 2023	55.26	51.3
Jan 2023	58.28	53.81
Dec 2022	54.51	49.93
Nov 2022	55.58	51.06
Oct 2022	49.74	45.74
Sep 2022	48.8	44.7
Aug 2022	53.65	49.04
Jul 2022	56.2	51.38
Jun 2022	52.87	48.34
May 2022	57.88	52.2
Apr 2022	57.52	51.32
Mar 2022	62.94	55.84
Feb 2022	65.15	57.04
Jan 2022	66.94	58.08
Dec 2021	70.54	60.69
Nov 2021	69.19	59.35
Oct 2021	71.7	61.2
Sep 2021	74.25	62.85
Aug 2021	72.49	61.2
Jul 2021	71.27	60.04
Jun 2021	72.07	60.43
May 2021	73.33	60.91
Apr 2021	72.66	59.88
Mar 2021	74.46	60.86
Feb 2021	74.66	60.59
Jan 2021	73.71	59.5
Dec 2020	74.65	60.01
Nov 2020	70.94	56.97
Oct 2020	64.13	51.53
Sep 2020	65.07	52.26
Aug 2020	64	51.33
Jul 2020	60.12	48.07
Jun 2020	61.08	48.59
May 2020	61.48	48.64
Apr 2020	57.43	45.44
Mar 2020	54.43	43.36
Feb 2020	58.24	46.49
Jan 2020	63.68	50.69
Dec 2019	65.58	52
Nov 2019	64.96	51.56
Oct 2019	64.11	50.91
Sep 2019	62.13	49.23
Aug 2019	59.09	46.78
Jul 2019	59.56	47.15
Jun 2019	59.91	47.35
May 2019	57.36	45.33
Apr 2019	60.43	47.65
Mar 2019	59.98	47.05
Feb 2019	59.92	46.74
Jan 2019	60.09	46.67
Dec 2018	56.22	43.59
Nov 2018	60.71	47.22
Oct 2018	59.96	46.79
Sep 2018	65.97	51.39
Aug 2018	63.84	49.68
Jul 2018	64.22	49.94
Jun 2018	63.54	49.41
May 2018	65.15	50.58
Apr 2018	66.41	51.35
Mar 2018	66.72	51.38
Feb 2018	67.3	51.71
Jan 2018	69.68	53.29
Dec 2017	66.7	50.75
Nov 2017	66.21	50.4
Oct 2017	64.82	49.34
Sep 2017	61.53	46.86
Aug 2017	60.74	46.02
Jul 2017	60.98	46.06
Jun 2017	59.7	45.13
May 2017	58.98	44.54
Apr 2017	57.45	43.35
Mar 2017	57.22	43.05
Feb 2017	56.96	42.82
Jan 2017	56.41	42.27
Dec 2016	54.82	40.84
Nov 2016	55.35	41.23
Oct 2016	55.96	41.75
Sep 2016	55.63	41.45
Aug 2016	54.61	40.59
Jul 2016	53.68	39.86
Jun 2016	51.11	38.01
May 2016	52.16	38.67
Apr 2016	50.73	37.45
Mar 2016	50.92	37.42
Feb 2016	48.81	35.72
Jan 2016	51.59	37.72
Dec 2015	54.46	39.75
Nov 2015	55.04	40.31
Oct 2015	54.66	40.12
Sep 2015	50.69	37.22
Aug 2015	53.66	39.46
Jul 2015	57.17	42.1
Jun 2015	56.64	41.71
May 2015	57.61	42.28
Apr 2015	57.06	41.66
Mar 2015	55.71	40.59
Feb 2015	55.24	40.01
Jan 2015	51.62	37.23
Dec 2014	50.26	36.42
Nov 2014	51.35	37.42
Oct 2014	53.01	38.84
Sep 2014	51.61	37.91
Aug 2014	51.78	38
Jul 2014	52.57	38.65
Jun 2014	52.72	38.78
May 2014	50.46	37.04
Apr 2014	48.45	35.44
Mar 2014	49.7	36.24
Feb 2014	51.26	37.14
Jan 2014	50.21	36.24
Dec 2013	54	38.83
Nov 2013	53.24	38.29
Oct 2013	52.47	37.82
Sep 2013	52.38	37.85
Aug 2013	47.82	34.51
Jul 2013	49.42	35.62
Jun 2013	49.44	35.62
May 2013	47.67	34.27
Apr 2013	51.55	36.99
Mar 2013	47.53	34.14
Feb 2013	45.05	32.28
Jan 2013	44.35	31.52
Dec 2012	43.5	30.82
Nov 2012	41.08	29.18
Oct 2012	39.7	28.34
Sep 2012	40.17	28.68
Aug 2012	39.86	28.34
Jul 2012	39.78	28.12
Jun 2012	41.57	29.44
May 2012	38.84	27.55
Apr 2012	42.51	30.18
Mar 2012	44.56	31.54
Feb 2012	44.06	30.95
Jan 2012	42.3	29.59
Dec 2011	40.53	28.23
Nov 2011	41.36	28.88
Oct 2011	41.2	28.78
Sep 2011	41.37	28.97
Aug 2011	43.14	30.16
Jul 2011	47.04	32.8
Jun 2011	45.85	31.94
May 2011	44.71	31.18
Apr 2011	46.06	31.97
Mar 2011	45.43	31.33
Feb 2011	51.25	35
Jan 2011	48.83	33.18
Dec 2010	48.97	33.12
Nov 2010	45.86	30.97
Oct 2010	44.77	30.21
Sep 2010	44.24	29.82
Aug 2010	41.98	28.28
Jul 2010	43.16	29.04
Jun 2010	41.24	27.74
May 2010	42.29	28.47
Apr 2010	46.24	31.11
Mar 2010	46.54	31.26
Feb 2010	44.49	29.76
Jan 2010	44.06	29.46
Dec 2009	43.76	29.16
Nov 2009	42.5	28.37
Oct 2009	42.48	28.34
Sep 2009	44.26	29.5
Aug 2009	45.53	30.33
Jul 2009	44.07	29.29
Jun 2009	42.04	27.98
May 2009	41.91	27.66
Apr 2009	38.17	25.12
Mar 2009	35.52	23.32
Feb 2009	33.22	21.75
Jan 2009	38.19	24.88
Dec 2008	43.59	28.28
Nov 2008	38.67	25.35
Oct 2008	39.42	26.35
Sep 2008	46.22	31.21
Aug 2008	49.41	33.4
Jul 2008	51.75	35.13
Jun 2008	54.06	36.51
May 2008	59.01	39.45
Apr 2008	58.37	38.69
Mar 2008	54.7	36.04
Feb 2008	55.89	36.51
Jan 2008	56.9	37.06
Dec 2007	59.74	38.72
Nov 2007	62.56	40.58
Oct 2007	64.23	41.41
Sep 2007	64.28	41.36
Aug 2007	63.24	40.58
Jul 2007	64.74	41.62
Jun 2007	65.08	41.85
May 2007	65.61	42.11
Apr 2007	64.57	41.18
Mar 2007	66.31	42.02
Feb 2007	67.78	42.57
Jan 2007	66.07	41.27
Dec 2006	65.81	40.98
Nov 2006	63.6	39.55
Oct 2006	63.5	39.55
Sep 2006	61.93	38.77
Aug 2006	62.4	39.26
Jul 2006	61.88	38.86
Jun 2006	62.38	39.06
May 2006	64.16	40.09
Apr 2006	68.16	42.38
Mar 2006	66.88	41.24
Feb 2006	64.45	39.52
Jan 2006	65.61	40.15
Dec 2005	63.75	38.72
Nov 2005	58.27	35.53
Oct 2005	56.18	34.53
Sep 2005	56.66	34.76
Aug 2005	52.37	31.74
Jul 2005	48.47	29.23
Jun 2005	48.17	28.91
May 2005	48.1	28.86
Apr 2005	48.67	29.23
Mar 2005	50.15	29.91
Feb 2005	52.08	30.83
Jan 2005	51.31	30.2
Dec 2004	53.03	31.14
Nov 2004	49.68	29.28
Oct 2004	47.87	28.2
Sep 2004	47.01	27.55
Aug 2004	48.47	28.34
Jul 2004	47.81	27.95
Jun 2004	51.52	30.16
May 2004	48.62	28.37
Apr 2004	49.64	28.8
Mar 2004	53.38	30.87
Feb 2004	47.99	27.58
Jan 2004	48	27.43
Dec 2003	48.14	27.38
Nov 2003	44.69	25.44
Oct 2003	45.96	26.24
Sep 2003	43.52	24.87
Aug 2003	41.37	23.57
Jul 2003	38.03	21.58
Jun 2003	36.42	20.64
May 2003	34.05	19.28
Apr 2003	32.09	18.2
Mar 2003	32.27	18.34
Feb 2003	34.37	19.42
Jan 2003	34.28	19.22
Dec 2002	35.35	19.73
Nov 2002	36.34	20.33
Oct 2002	35.07	19.62
Sep 2002	37.26	20.81
Aug 2002	39.77	22.18
Jul 2002	40.16	22.32
Jun 2002	43.12	23.94
May 2002	45.85	25.44
Apr 2002	43.19	23.97
Mar 2002	41.89	23.11
Feb 2002	38.66	21.21
Jan 2002	37.1	20.27
Dec 2001	40.15	21.89
Nov 2001	43.47	23.8
Oct 2001	43.44	23.82
Sep 2001	43.35	23.85
Aug 2001	47.38	25.95
Jul 2001	48.73	26.69
Jun 2001	52.88	29.05
May 2001	56.39	30.92
Apr 2001	58.36	31.86
Mar 2001	53.48	29.08
Feb 2001	55.12	29.9
Jan 2001	57.81	31.23
Dec 2000	58.5	31.41
Nov 2000	62.1	33.36
Oct 2000	67.09	36.03
Sep 2000	70.19	37.62
Aug 2000	74.22	39.58
Jul 2000	69.65	37.14
Jun 2000	78.54	41.78
May 2000	74.73	39.55
Apr 2000	79.37	41.96
Mar 2000	85.93	45.39
Feb 2000	79.74	41.78
Jan 2000	81.2	42.3
Dec 1999	86.41	44.88
Nov 1999	80.21	41.66
Oct 1999	77.96	40.46
Sep 1999	73.48	38.07
Aug 1999	70.86	36.54
Jul 1999	71.1	36.58
Jun 1999	66.34	34.03
May 1999	60.04	30.79
Apr 1999	63.69	32.66
Mar 1999	61.48	31.3
Feb 1999	54.29	27.56
Jan 1999	56.37	28.58
Dec 1998	55.16	27.9
Nov 1998	53.79	27.22
Oct 1998	52.11	26.37
Sep 1998	43.13	21.78
Aug 1998	42.51	21.44
Jul 1998	50.95	25.66
Jun 1998	53.03	26.68
May 1998	52.42	26.34
Apr 1998	55.91	28.04
Mar 1998	53.98	27.02
Feb 1998	60.88	30.41
Jan 1998	60.31	30.07
Dec 1997	53.94	26.85
Nov 1997	57.27	28.54
Oct 1997	61.33	30.58
Sep 1997	67.97	33.81
Aug 1997	68.82	34.15
Jul 1997	76.47	37.87
Jun 1997	77.6	38.38
May 1997	73.57	36.35
Apr 1997	66.99	33.12
Mar 1997	63.29	31.25
Feb 1997	66.21	32.61
Jan 1997	65.04	31.93
Dec 1996	72.53	35.5
Nov 1996	78.43	38.38
Oct 1996	76.84	37.53
Sep 1996	82.66	40.25
Aug 1996	80.12	38.89
Jul 1996	84.84	41.1
Jun 1996	89.21	43.14
May 1996	88.22	42.63
Apr 1996	92.61	44.67
Mar 1996	88.72	42.63

Returns from Investing in the iShares MSCI Japan ETF

How much did an investment in the EWJ ETF really grow each year after accounting for inflation? The following chart contains the inflation-adjusted real annual percentage returns.

Detailed Annual Returns (Adjusted vs. Nominal)

The table below shows the returns for the iShares MSCI Japan ETF by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.

Observe how inflation erodes nominal gains, sometimes resulting in a negative real return even when the ETF nominally increased, as in 2021.

Year	Inflation-Adjusted Return	Nominal Return
2024	4%	7%
2023	16.36%	20.26%
2022	-22.72%	-17.73%
2021	-5.52%	1.13%
2020	13.84%	15.39%
2019	16.65%	19.31%
2018	-15.72%	-14.11%
2017	21.69%	24.26%
2016	0.65%	2.74%
2015	8.37%	9.16%
2014	-6.93%	-6.23%
2013	24.12%	25.99%
2012	7.33%	9.2%
2011	-17.23%	-14.77%
2010	11.91%	13.58%
2009	0.4%	3.13%
2008	-27.05%	-26.98%
2007	-9.22%	-5.51%
2006	3.23%	5.85%
2005	20.23%	24.33%
2004	10.15%	13.74%
2003	36.17%	38.73%
2002	-11.95%	-9.86%
2001	-31.37%	-30.31%
2000	-32.3%	-30.01%
1999	56.65%	60.85%
1998	2.28%	3.93%
1997	-25.64%	-24.37%

Ishares Msci Japan Etf: Average Annualized Returns

Annualized returns show the average rate of growth per year, making it easier to compare performance across different time periods. While nominal returns indicate the headline growth, adjusting for inflation reveals the actual change in purchasing power.

This table presents both nominal and inflation-adjusted average annual returns for the iShares MSCI Japan over various trailing periods ending December 31, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	22.39%	25.67%
Last 3 years	13.99%	17.38%
Last 5 years	1.58%	6.12%
Last 10 years	4.02%	7.34%
Last 20 years	1.19%	3.74%

Real Returns of Investing in the iShares MSCI Japan

The chart and table below show the nominal and inflation-adjusted value of a hypothetical $100 investment over various long-term historical periods, ending in September 2025.

The inflation-adjusted line, in green, represents the real increase in purchasing power for the initial investment. Observe the gap between both lines, which illustrates the cumulative effect of inflation over time.

Even over just five years, inflation takes a noticeable bite out of investments. Investing $100 in the iShares MSCI Japan five years ago yielded an 27.77% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 3.46%.

As investment periods get longer, the difference between reported nominal returns and the inflation-adjusted gains usually becomes much greater due to the compounding effect of inflation over time.

Investment Period	What $100 Grew To (Nominal)	Total Nominal Return (%)	Total Inflation-Adjusted Return (%)
Last 5 years Feb 2021 - Sep 2025	$127.77	27.77%	3.46%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025	$216.76	116.76%	58.24%
Last 25 years Feb 2001 - Sep 2025	$258.92	158.92%	40.14%

About the iShares MSCI Japan ETF

The iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) is an exchange-traded fund managed by BlackRock that seeks to track the performance of the MSCI Japan Index. Launched in March 1996, EWJ was one of the first country-specific ETFs and provides investors with broad exposure to the Japanese equity market. The fund includes large and mid-cap Japanese companies across various sectors, offering a convenient way for investors to gain diversified exposure to Japan's economy and stock market through a single US-listed security.

Last Close Jan 28, 2026	85.21
Highest Jan 27, 2026	85.84
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Apr 26, 1996	92.96
Annualized return Since Mar 18, 1996	2.49%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Mar 18, 1996	0%