The Nikkei 225 reached a peak closing value of 38,915.87 before the 1990s Japanese asset-price crash.
The record close occurred on December 29, 1989, near the end of Japan’s large asset-price bubble. During the 1980s, easy credit, optimistic expectations, and rapid increases in property and share prices helped drive valuations to extraordinary levels.
After the peak, Japanese share prices fell sharply, while land values also declined over a much longer period. Banks were left with impaired loans and weakened balance sheets, and businesses reduced investment. The resulting period of slow growth and financial strain became known as Japan’s “Lost Decades.”
The Nikkei’s 1989 record was not surpassed for decades. The crash is often described as a stock-market crash, but it was part of a broader asset-price collapse involving equities, commercial real estate, and residential land. The peak is therefore an important benchmark for understanding the scale of Japan’s subsequent decline.