Japan's Nikkei closed 2011 at its lowest year-end level since 1982, and down 17.34% from 2010's closing figure. Japan's financial woes were worsened by the Fukushima disaster in March as well as eurozone-related panic selling.
Japan’s stock market is struggling to build on recent gains as investors remain jittery over fears that the Japanese economy still faces major challenges in the aftermath of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Nikkei plummeted more than 14 percent Tuesday as Japanese leaders tried to calm jittery markets. Investors fear the knock-on effects of the worsening nuclear crisis, as the world's third largest economy reels after Friday's quake and tsunami.
Japan's earthquake has hit the Asian markets hard. The Nikkei continues to fall and all eyes are on nuclear and energy stocks. Find out more with Nicolas Dromel, Professor at the Paris School of Economics.
On December 29, 1989, Tokyo's stock market reached its historical peak. What followed was the end of an era of unequalled wealth and a slow economic slide. Japanese remember the excesses of the 1980s with a mixture of shame and nostalgia.
