A bluefin tuna fetched ¥193.2 million on Sunday at the New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, the second-highest price on record.
The payout for the 276-kilogram tuna caught by a vessel operating out of a port in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, amounts to ¥700,000 per kg. The successful bidder was Kiyomura Corp., the Tokyo-based operator of sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai.
“I am even more happy as this was the first auction in Reiwa,” said Kiyomura President Kiyoshi Kimura, referring to the new imperial era, which commenced in May last year.
The company said the tuna will be served at the chain’s restaurant in nearby Tsukiji, the former location of the capital’s major fish market.
A bluefin tuna fetched a record ¥333.6 million at the New Year’s auction last year, when it was held for the first time in Toyosu following the market’s relocation.
Seventy-two wild bluefin tuna from across Japan were put up for auction, up 13 from last year.
In the auction, yellowtail and bonito from Toyama Prefecture also sold for high prices due to short supply.
“We want to create a new market model at Toyosu by making much of our experience and tradition at Tsukiji,” an executive of a wholesaler said in an address at the auction.
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