The Nikkei 225 peaked at 38,957.44 during the Japanese asset-price bubble on December 29, 1989.
The index tracked Japan’s largest and most actively traded companies, including major industrial, technology, and financial firms. Its late-1989 peak became a landmark of the bubble era, when Japanese land and equity prices had risen dramatically. After the bubble burst, the Nikkei entered a prolonged decline and did not quickly return to its peak.
The episode is sometimes called the Japanese asset price bubble or the bubble economy. It involved both stock and real-estate speculation, supported by easy credit and optimistic expectations. The Nikkei 225 should not be confused with the broader TOPIX index, which is based on companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. The precise peak is commonly reported as 38,957.44, reached during the final trading session of 1989.