What was the name of the speculative bubble that burst in Japan in the early 1990s?

The speculative bubble that burst in Japan in the early 1990s was the Japanese asset-price bubble.

During the late 1980s, Japanese land and share prices rose to extraordinary levels. Easy credit, optimistic expectations, and financial deregulation helped push asset values far beyond levels supported by underlying income and profits. The Tokyo Stock Exchange reached its peak on December 29, 1989, when the Nikkei 225 closed at 38,915.87.

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates, and the boom reversed. Equity and property prices fell sharply, damaging banks that had lent against inflated collateral. Japan then entered a prolonged period of weak growth, falling prices, and financial-sector stress often called the “Lost Decades.”

The event was a broader asset-price collapse rather than only a stock-market crash. Real estate was especially important because Japanese banks had accepted land as security for loans. The Nikkei's 1989 peak was not exceeded until 2024, illustrating how long the consequences lasted.