On what date did Japan’s Nikkei 225 reach its pre-crash all-time closing high in 1989?

Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached its pre-crash all-time closing high on December 29, 1989.

The index closed at 38,915.87 as Japan’s asset-price bubble neared its peak. During the late 1980s, exceptionally high land and share prices were supported by easy credit, strong optimism, and expectations that Japanese companies and property would continue appreciating. The Nikkei’s rise reflected the broader boom rather than only changes in corporate earnings.

The bubble began to deflate soon afterward. Japanese share prices fell dramatically in 1990, while property values also declined. The resulting period of weak growth, banking stress, and falling prices became known as the Lost Decades, although the timing and severity varied across sectors and years.

The record was a closing value, not an intraday quotation. It is also different from the index’s later records: the Nikkei eventually returned above its 1989 closing high in 2024, more than three decades after the bubble-era peak.