The Nikkei 225 reached its bubble-era peak on December 29, 1989, before Japan's prolonged market collapse.
The index closed at 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989, its record closing level for more than three decades. The peak came at the end of Japan's asset-price bubble, when property and equity valuations had risen dramatically during the 1980s.
After the bubble burst, Japanese shares fell for years as banks struggled with bad loans, property prices declined, and economic growth weakened. The Nikkei reached a major low of 7,054.98 in March 2009 during the global financial crisis. It did not close above its 1989 record until 2024.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 leading companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market. It is not the same as TOPIX, which uses a broader, market-capitalization-weighted approach. That distinction matters when comparing Japanese market performance.