The Nikkei 225 lost about 78% of its value during Japan's asset-price bubble collapse from its 1989 peak to its 2009 low.
The index reached an intraday record of 38,957.44 on December 29, 1989. Japan's stock and property prices had risen dramatically during the late 1980s, supported by abundant credit and speculative expectations. After the bubble burst, equity prices fell for years rather than recovering quickly.
The Nikkei's long decline became a defining feature of Japan's so-called Lost Decades. The index eventually fell below 8,000 in 2009 during the global financial crisis. It later recovered, but the 1989 high remained unbroken for decades.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 major companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market. It is not identical to TOPIX, which uses a different construction and covers a broader set of companies.