Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached a record closing value of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, during the late-1980s asset bubble.
The Japanese asset-price bubble was fueled by rapid credit growth, strong optimism, and soaring prices for shares and real estate. Tokyo land values became especially symbolic of the boom. Banks, companies, and investors increasingly treated rising asset prices as evidence that further increases were likely.
After the peak, the Bank of Japan tightened policy and asset prices began to fall. The Nikkei lost much of its value during the 1990s, while banks struggled with bad loans and companies reduced investment. Japan then experienced a prolonged period of weak growth often called the Lost Decades.
The closing record is different from an intraday high, and that distinction causes confusion. The Nikkei later surpassed this closing record in 2024, after more than three decades. The 1989 peak therefore remains a key marker of the bubble’s climax, not the permanent high of the index.