Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached its pre-crash record closing value of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989.
The peak came after years of rapidly rising Japanese share and property prices. Easy credit, optimistic expectations, and financial liberalization helped drive asset valuations far above levels supported by underlying earnings. The Nikkei’s record became a landmark of the late-1980s Japanese bubble.
After the Bank of Japan tightened monetary policy, equity and real-estate prices began falling. The decline contributed to a prolonged period of weak growth, banking stress, and deflation often called Japan’s Lost Decades. The Nikkei did not permanently reclaim its 1989 closing record for more than three decades.
A common mix-up is the index’s intraday high versus its closing high. The often-cited 38,915.87 figure is the record close, not the highest price reached during a trading session. That distinction matters because financial indexes can briefly trade above a level before ending the day lower.