The Nikkei 225 reached its bubble-era peak on December 29, 1989.
The index closed at 38,915.87 on that date, near the end of Japan’s extraordinary asset-price boom. Japanese shares and urban land had risen dramatically during the 1980s, supported by abundant credit, optimistic expectations, and rapid financial expansion.
After the peak, Japanese equity and property prices collapsed. The Nikkei entered a long decline and did not regain its 1989 closing high for many years. The resulting period is often called Japan’s Lost Decades, although the economic experience included several distinct phases rather than one uninterrupted recession.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 leading companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. It is often confused with the TOPIX, which uses a different construction and covers a broader group of companies. The 1989 peak belongs specifically to the Nikkei 225.