The Nikkei 225 became a symbol of Japan’s 1990 market crash after reaching its 1989 peak.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 reached an all-time closing high of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989. The peak marked the end of an extraordinary asset-price boom in Japanese stocks and real estate. When the bubble burst, share and land prices fell sharply.
The Nikkei continued declining into the early 1990s, while banks and companies struggled with bad loans and weakened balance sheets. The prolonged economic consequences became associated with Japan’s “Lost Decades,” although the timing and exact definition of that period are debated.
The Nikkei 225 is a price-weighted index of 225 major companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market. It is distinct from TOPIX, which uses a different construction and covers a broader set of companies.