The Japanese stock-market index that fell from its 1989 peak and became a symbol of Japan’s lost decades was the Nikkei 225.
The Nikkei 225 reached its all-time closing high of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989. Japan’s asset-price bubble then burst, and falling share and land prices damaged banks, companies, and household balance sheets.
The index continued downward for years and closed at 7,054.98 on March 10, 2009, during the global financial crisis. Its long recovery became closely associated with Japan’s prolonged period of weak growth, banking problems, deflation, and repeated economic stimulus.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 major companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. It should not be confused with TOPIX, which uses a different construction and covers a broader set of Japanese shares.