ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm renowned for its expertise in subscription research, consulting services, events, and ETF TV on global ETF industry trends, reported today that assets invested in the ETFs industry in Japan reached a new record of US$614.26 billion at the end of April. During April the ETFs industry in Japan gathered net inflows of US$5.91 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$14.98 billion, according to ETFGI's April 2025 Japanese ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)

Highlights

• Assets invested in the ETFs industry in Japan reached a new record of $614.26 Bn at the end of April, beating the previous record of $602.61 Bn at the end of September 2024.
• Net inflows of $5.91 Bn in April 2025.
• YTD net inflows of $14.98 Bn in 2025 are the fifth highest on record, while the highest recorded YTD net inflows are $33.91 Bn in 2020, and the second highest recorded YTD net inflows are $31.11 Bn in 2018.
• 4th month of consecutive net inflows.

The S&P 500 Index declined by 0.68% in April and is down 4.92% year-to-date (YTD) in 2025. In contrast, the Developed Markets Ex-U.S. Index rose 4.86% in April and is up 10.85% YTD. Among developed markets, Spain and Portugal posted the strongest gains in April, rising 8.65% and 7.67%, respectively. The Emerging Markets Index increased by 0.88% during April and is up 1.80% YTD. Within emerging markets, Hungary led with a 10.78% gain, followed closely by Mexico at 10.40%," said Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, Founder, and Owner of ETFGI.

Growth in assets in the ETFs industry in Japan as of the end of April

The ETFs industry in Japan had 359 products, with 381 listings, assets of US$614.26 Bn, from 16 providers listed on 2 exchanges at the end of April.

During April, ETFs gathered net inflows of $5.91 Bn. Equity ETFs gathered net inflows of $5.32 Bn, bringing YTD net inflows to $12.73 Bn, slightly higher than the $11.02 Bn in net inflows YTD in 2024. Fixed income ETFs reported net outflows of $353.43 Mn during April, bringing YTD net outflows to $634.71 Mn, lower than the $578.81 Mn in net inflows YTD in 2024. Commodities ETFs reported net inflows of $415.79 Mn during April, bringing YTD net inflows to $839.18 Mn, higher than the $277.11 Mn in net inflows YTD in 2024.  

As of the end of April, assets invested in the ETF industry in Japan totalled US$614.26 billion, with the Bank of Japan holding US$245 billion in ETFs."

Substantial inflows can be attributed to the top 20 ETFs by net new assets, which collectively gathered $7.00 Bn in April. iFree ETF-TOPIX (1305 JP) gathered $1.52 Bn, the largest individual net inflow.

Top 20 ETFs by net new assets April 2025: Japan

Investors have tended to invest in Equity ETFs during April.