Which index reached 38,915.87 at the peak of Japan’s 1989 market bubble?

The Nikkei 225 reached 38,915.87 at the peak of Japan’s 1989 market bubble.

That record closing level was set on December 29, 1989, near the end of Japan’s extraordinary asset-price boom. The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 leading companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. Because it tracks prominent Japanese shares, it became the most widely quoted indicator of the bubble’s rise and collapse.

Japanese stock and real-estate prices had surged during the 1980s, supported by easy credit, speculation, and strong optimism. After the bubble burst, the Nikkei fell for years, while banks and businesses struggled with bad loans and declining asset values. The broader economic consequences contributed to Japan’s “Lost Decades.”

A common mix-up is identifying TOPIX as the record-setting index. TOPIX is also a major Japanese benchmark, but the famous 38,915.87 peak belongs to the Nikkei 225. The Nikkei did not surpass that closing record until 2024.