The Nikkei 225 reached its record closing level of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, before Japan’s market collapse.
The peak came near the end of Japan’s asset-price bubble. During the 1980s, land and share prices rose dramatically, supported by easy credit, strong optimism, and aggressive lending. The Nikkei’s level became a symbol of the period’s extraordinary confidence in Japan’s economy.
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates beginning in 1989, helping puncture the bubble. Stock and property prices then declined, and the Nikkei fell for years. It remained far below its 1989 peak for decades, making the episode one of the clearest examples of a prolonged asset-market collapse.
The record is a closing value, not the highest intraday level. The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 major companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market, so its quoted level is not directly comparable to a market-capitalization index.