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Nikkei 225: from the 1989 peak to new records in 2024
Peak Dec 1989; regained Feb 2024· Concept
Fact, law or dataA rule, statute, definition or measured number.
Japan's best-known stock index, an average of 225 Tokyo-listed companies, which took 34 years to regain its 1989 bubble peak.
See it on the Money & Finance map →How it works
First published in 1950 and run by the Nikkei newspaper group, the index is price-weighted, so high-priced shares such as Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) and Tokyo Electron move it most; the broader TOPIX weights by company value. It peaked at 38,916 on December 29, 1989, bottomed near 7,055 in March 2009 and passed its old high only in February 2024. It plunged 12.4% on August 5, 2024, then rebounded, and it topped 72,000 in June 2026.
Why it matters
It is the scoreboard of Japan's bubble, lost decades and revival, and a warning that a major index can stay below its peak for a generation.
Facts, rules and data
Nikkei Inc. index data and methodology, Tokyo Stock Exchange records, and daily market reports from Reuters, Nikkei and Jiji Press.
Debates and risks
With dividends reinvested, holders were made whole years before 2024; how much of the 2024–26 surge reflects real reform versus a weak yen is debated.
Connections (2)
▸The yen carry-trade unwind and the Aug 5, 2024 crash drove a 12.4% one-day plunge in Nikkei 225: from the 1989 peak to new records in 2024Fact, law or data
The connection
Investors had borrowed cheap yen to buy higher-yielding assets, including Japanese stocks. After the BOJ raised rates on July 31, 2024, and a weak US jobs report on August 2, the yen jumped, forcing borrowers to sell. On August 5 the Nikkei fell 12.4%, its worst day since 1987, then rebounded 10.2% the next day.
When and why
Tokyo and global markets, July 31 to August 6, 2024; the BOJ under Governor Kazuo Ueda, hedge funds and leveraged retail traders.
How we know
Exchange price records, BOJ and Ministry of Finance statements, and BIS analysis of the carry-trade unwind published in 2024.
Debates and risks
How large the yen carry trade really was, and how much remains; estimates range from hundreds of billions to several trillion dollars.
▸Nikkei 225: from the 1989 peak to new records in 2024 took 34 years to regain its peak after Japan's bubble and 'lost decades' (1990–)Fact, law or data
The connection
The Nikkei peaked at 38,916 at the end of 1989, at the height of Japan's stock and land bubble. When the Bank of Japan raised rates and the bubble burst, stocks fell for years as banks hid bad loans and prices deflated. The index bottomed near 7,055 in 2009 and passed its old high only in February 2024.
When and why
Tokyo, December 1989 to February 22, 2024; the Bank of Japan, the Ministry of Finance and Japan's banks.
How we know
Nikkei Inc. price records and BOJ data on lending, land prices and inflation.
Debates and risks
Whether the long slump came mainly from policy mistakes, unresolved bad loans or an aging population; economists still disagree.