On what date did Japan’s Nikkei 225 reach its pre-crash record high?

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

The index closed at 38,915.87 that day, near the end of Japan’s asset-price bubble. During the 1980s, exceptionally strong property and share prices were supported by abundant credit, optimistic expectations, and speculation. Land values in major cities rose sharply alongside equities, creating a powerful but unstable wealth effect.

The Nikkei then entered a prolonged decline as the bubble deflated. It fell sharply in 1990 and continued weakening through the following years, while Japan experienced a long period of slow growth and financial stress often called the Lost Decades. The 1989 peak is sometimes confused with the later recovery attempts, but it remained the benchmark high for decades. The index eventually surpassed that level in 2024, more than 34 years after the bubble-era record.