Japan’s stock-market index was the Nikkei 225 when it peaked near 38,916 in December 1989.
The Nikkei 225 reached its intraday all-time high of 38,957.44 on 29 December 1989, while its closing high was 38,915.87. The peak marked the end of Japan’s major asset-price bubble, during which property and share prices had risen dramatically.
After the bubble burst, Japanese equities entered a prolonged decline. The Nikkei later fell below 8,000 in 2003, although it eventually recovered and exceeded its 1989 closing record decades later. The episode is often linked to Japan’s “lost decades,” a period of weak growth, deflationary pressure, and financial-sector problems.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 leading companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. TOPIX is a different, broader Japanese index.