Which 1989 Japanese asset-price collapse began after the Nikkei 225 reached its record peak?

The Japanese asset price bubble was the asset-price collapse that began after the Nikkei 225 reached its record peak in December 1989. The index closed at 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, before entering a prolonged decline.

During the late 1980s, Japanese land and equities became extraordinarily expensive. Low interest rates, rapid bank lending, corporate speculation, and expectations that asset prices would keep rising helped inflate the bubble. Tokyo commercial land prices became a particularly prominent symbol of the boom.

The Bank of Japan tightened monetary policy, and falling land and share prices weakened borrowers and financial institutions. The resulting stagnation is associated with Japan's “Lost Decades,” although economic performance varied across periods and the causes remain debated by economists.

The bubble is not itself the same thing as the Nikkei's later market crash, nor is it identical to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The 1989 peak marks the beginning of Japan's distinctive long decline, while the broader consequences unfolded through the 1990s and beyond.