At an intimate bar in Tokyo's Ginza district, Japanese investors toasted the day the Nikkei reached a new record high on Thursday after a wait of more than 34 years.
Excitement among regulars at Stock Pickers, a networking bar where patrons discuss stock picking strategies over finance-themed cocktails, had been brewing since last week as the Nikkei teased just a few hundred points below its previous high of 38,957.44, scaled on the last trading day in December 1989.
"Finally the day has come," said 48-year-old IT company worker Norikazu Isono, who came to Stock Pickers to celebrate the "happy day" on which the Nikkei share average rose as high as 39,156.97 points.