What was the name of Japan’s stock-market peak-and-crash era around 1990?

Japan’s stock-market peak-and-crash era around 1990 was the Japanese asset price bubble.

Japanese land and share prices rose dramatically during the late 1980s. Easy credit, optimistic expectations, financial deregulation, and strong economic performance helped push valuations to extraordinary levels. The Nikkei 225 reached its record closing high of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989.

The Bank of Japan tightened monetary policy, and the bubble began to deflate. Japanese share prices fell sharply in 1990, while land values also declined. Banks were left with bad loans secured by assets whose prices had collapsed. Credit weakened, investment slowed, and economic growth remained poor for much of the following decade.

The phrase “Lost Decade” usually describes Japan’s prolonged economic stagnation after the bubble burst, although some measures of weakness extended beyond the 1990s. The episode is often compared with later bubbles because it shows how stock prices, property markets, bank lending, and monetary policy can reinforce one another during a boom and a reversal.