Which 1989 date marked the peak of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 before Japan’s crash?

December 29, 1989, marked the peak of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 before Japan’s crash.

The Nikkei 225 reached an intraday record of 38,957.44 on December 29, 1989, at the height of Japan’s asset-price bubble. The index closed near that level, and the date became a reference point for the long decline that followed.

The bubble had been fueled by rapid credit growth, rising land prices, and strong optimism about Japanese corporations. When asset prices turned downward, banks faced deteriorating loans and the economy entered a prolonged period of weak growth and deflationary pressure, often called Japan’s Lost Decades.

The 1989 peak should not be confused with the later trough. The Nikkei continued falling for years and reached a much lower low in 2009. The index eventually recovered substantially, but the 1989 record remained unbroken for decades, making it one of the clearest symbols of the bubble’s scale.