The Nikkei 225’s highest closing level before its long post-1989 decline was 38,915.87.
The index reached that record close on December 29, 1989, at the height of Japan’s asset-price bubble. Land and share prices had risen dramatically during the 1980s, supported by easy credit, optimistic expectations, and rapid financial expansion.
After the peak, Japanese stocks fell for years as the bubble deflated. Banks accumulated bad loans, property values declined, and businesses and households reduced spending. The resulting period is often called Japan’s “Lost Decades,” although economic performance varied across industries and different phases.
The Nikkei’s 1989 peak was not surpassed for more than three decades. It finally exceeded that level intraday in 2024, illustrating how unusually prolonged the recovery was. The 1989 peak is associated with Japan’s bubble collapse, while the Nikkei itself tracks 225 prominent stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.