Under normal circumstances, the Matthews Japan Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in the common and preferred stocks of companies located in Japan. A company or other issuer is considered to be “located” in a country or a region, and a security or instrument is deemed to be an Asian (or specific country) security or instrument, if it has substantial ties to that country or region. Matthews currently makes that determination based primarily on one or more of the following criteria: (A) with respect to a company or issuer, whether (i) it is organized under the laws of that country or any country in that region; (ii) it derives at least 50% of its revenues or profits from goods produced or sold, investments made, or services performed, or has at least 50% of its assets located, within that country or region; (iii) it has the primary trading markets for its securities in that country or region; (iv) it has its principal place of business in or is otherwise headquartered in that country or region; or (v) it is a governmental entity or an agency, instrumentality or a political subdivision of that country or any country in that region; and (B) with respect to an instrument or issue, whether (i) its issuer is headquartered or organized in that country or region; (ii) it is issued to finance a project 

with significant assets or operations in that country or region; (iii) it is principally secured or backed by assets located in that country or region; (iv) it is a component of or its issuer is included in a recognized securities index for the country or region; or (v) it is denominated in the currency of an Asian country and addresses at least one of the other above criteria. The term “located” and the associated criteria listed above have been defined in such a way that Matthews has latitude in determining whether an issuer should be included within a region or country. The Fund may also invest in depositary receipts, including American, European and Global Depositary Receipts. 

The Fund seeks to invest in companies capable of sustainable growth based on the fundamental characteristics of those companies, including balance sheet information; number of employees; size and stability of cash flow; management’s depth, adaptability and integrity; product lines; marketing strategies; corporate governance; and financial health. The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization. Matthews measures a company’s size with respect to fundamental criteria such as, but not limited to, market capitalization, book value, revenues, profits, cash flow, dividends paid and number of employees. The implementation of the principal investment strategies of the Fund may result in a significant portion of the Fund’s assets being invested from time to time in one or more sectors, but the Fund may invest in companies in any sector. 

Matthews may also take into consideration environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics of companies in selecting portfolio investments as part of the investment process for this Fund in an effort to reduce what it regards as the sustainability risks of its investments. Through these efforts, Matthews also hopes to promote the sustainability practices of those companies. For example, it may view favorably companies that have a commitment to mitigating climate change through reducing their carbon footprint and those with sound governance practices. Not all investments will demonstrate those characteristics, and there could be instances where Matthews is unable to assess whether companies have such a commitment or follow good governance practices. Matthews’ investment process in this regard is carried out through a combination of exclusionary ESG screens and the use of ESG data. Matthews uses various sources of information, including but not limited to third-party ESG rating firms and Matthews’ own analysis, in assessing a company’s ESG characteristics. In addition, once invested in a company, Matthews may engage with its portfolio companies on sustainability and governance matters through active dialogue, exercising shareholder rights and by encouraging enhanced ESG disclosure and implementation.