Japan's stock-market index fell by about 32 percent during the 1989–1990 crash that ended its asset bubble.
Japan's asset-price bubble developed during the second half of the 1980s, when land and share prices rose dramatically amid easy credit, optimism, and financial speculation. The Nikkei 225 reached an intraday record of 38,957.44 on December 29, 1989.
After monetary policy tightened and confidence weakened, the Nikkei fell rapidly. It lost roughly 32 percent during 1990, and the broader collapse in land and equity prices damaged banks, companies, and households. Japan then entered a prolonged period of weak growth and deflation often called the Lost Decades.
The crash is not the same as the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which began with pressure on Thailand's baht. Japan's bubble was primarily a domestic asset-price boom, although its consequences influenced the wider Asian economy.