The Nikkei 225 reached an approximate record closing level of 38,916 before Japan’s early-1990s stock-market crash.
The index closed at 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, marking the peak of Japan’s late-1980s asset-price bubble. The Nikkei’s level reflected extraordinary optimism about Japanese companies, property, and financial assets.
The bubble had been supported by rapid credit growth, rising land prices, and strong confidence in Japan’s economic power. When monetary policy tightened and asset prices began falling, the decline spread from stocks to real estate and the banking sector. Japan then entered a prolonged period of weak growth and financial stress often called the Lost Decades.
The 38,916 figure is rounded from the exact closing value, so it should not be confused with an intraday record or a later market recovery. The Nikkei eventually fell far below its 1989 peak before regaining that level decades later.