11 March 2011: Japan's earthquake and tsunami
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off northeastern Japan, triggering a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people and caused meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The Nikkei lost well over a tenth of its value in the next two sessions, and supply chains for cars and electronics were disrupted worldwide. Countries around the world rethought nuclear power, and uranium prices slumped for years afterward.
The lesson: Natural disasters can reshape entire industries far beyond the place they strike.
What it meant for investors
$1,000 in Nikkei 225 at the start of 2012 → $5,882 today, vs $5,312 in the S&P 500.
We start the clock at the start of 2012, the first year in our price data after the event. That is 5.9 times the money, and $570 more than a plain index fund made over the same years.
What Nikkei 225 teaches: Even a large developed market can fail to reach its old peak for a generation, which is why buying at bubble valuations is dangerous for patient investors too.
| Bought in | Price then | Worth today | S&P 500 would be |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | $8,500 | $5,882 | $5,312 |
| 2015 | $17,400 | $2,874 | $3,301 |
| 2018 | $23,500 | $2,128 | $2,519 |
green = beat the S&P 500 · red = lost money
What if you bought Nikkei 225? Every starting year and the full story →
More Nikkei 225 history
- 29 January 2016: The Bank of Japan goes negative
- 22 September 1985: The Plaza Accord takes down the dollar
- 17 November 1997: A major Japanese bank collapses
- 24 November 1997: Yamaichi Securities collapses
- 29 December 1989: The Nikkei hits its all-time bubble peak
Could you have called it at the time? The wheel picks the year, you pick the position, ten seconds a pick.
Play Sixty-40