By Blessing Nweke
A massive bluefin tuna stole the spotlight at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market on Monday, selling for a record 510.3 million yen ($3.2m; £2.4m) during the market’s first auction of the year. The 243-kilogram fish was snapped up by Kiyomura Corp, operator of the popular Sushi Zanmai restaurant chain, in a sale that once again underlined the symbolic importance of the annual New Year auction.
“The year’s first tuna brings good luck,” said Kiyoshi Kimura, the company’s president, after the frenetic pre-dawn bidding. Mr Kimura, widely known as the “Tuna King,” is a familiar figure at the January auction, where he has repeatedly paid eye-watering sums for prized bluefin tuna. Speaking to reporters, he admitted he was taken aback by the final price, saying he had expected to buy the fish for less before the bidding rapidly escalated.
The purchase marks yet another record for Mr Kimura, who has a long history of headline-grabbing bids. He paid 56.5 million yen for a bluefin tuna in 2012 and 155 million yen in 2013, both record prices at the time. In 2019, he set another benchmark with a 333.6 million yen purchase, later remarking that he might have “done too much.” This year’s auction, however, saw him break his own record once again.
The first auction of the year at Toyosu often sees tuna sell for exorbitant prices, driven by tradition, publicity, and fierce competition among buyers. Last year’s top tuna fetched 207 million yen and was bought by Onodera Group, another sushi chain operator.
Monday’s auction began around 05:00 local time and drew crowds of tourists eager to witness the high-energy spectacle. The record-breaking tuna was quickly sliced and served at Sushi Zanmai outlets, where customers described eating it as an auspicious way to begin the year.
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