Japan experienced the 1989 stock-market crash when the Nikkei 225 began a historic decline. The index reached its all-time closing high of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, after years of extraordinary increases in Japanese share and property prices.
The boom was fueled by easy credit, rising land values, optimistic expectations, and strong corporate and banking relationships. Japanese banks extended large loans against property, while investors treated rapidly rising asset prices as a sign that the expansion would continue.
After monetary policy tightened and the bubble burst, Japanese stocks and real estate lost much of their value. The Nikkei fell for years, and Japan entered a prolonged period often called the Lost Decade, although economic weakness extended beyond the 1990s. The 1989 peak was not an immediate one-day collapse like Black Monday; it marked the turning point from a speculative boom into a long market decline.