The Nikkei 225's record closing value before Japan's asset bubble burst was 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989.
That level marked the peak of Japan's late-1980s asset-price boom. Japanese shares and urban land had risen dramatically, supported by easy credit, optimistic expectations, and strong corporate and financial-sector activity.
After the peak, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates and credit conditions tightened. Share prices and land values fell, damaging banks and companies whose balance sheets depended on inflated asset prices. Japan then entered a prolonged period of weak growth and financial repair often called the Lost Decades.
The Nikkei's 1989 record became a benchmark for measuring the length of Japan's market slump. The index eventually returned above that closing peak in 2024, more than three decades later. The December 29 figure is a closing value, not the day's intraday high, and that distinction explains why some references give a slightly different number.