Tokyo stocks plunged yet again this week, sending the 225-issue Nikkei average below 10,500 -- a level unseen since August 1984.
Even the less volatile Topix index of all first section issues is barely above 1,000.
Unlike the Nikkei component stocks, the basket of Topix components is not subject to periodic reshuffles. And yet, the Topix is now threatening to fall below 1,000 and test the 1998 low of 980.