At Toyosu Market in Tokyo, Japan, the New Year’s first tuna auction drew attention with a record-breaking bid. According to local media such as NHK, a bluefin tuna from Oma, Aomori Prefecture, weighing 243 kg, was sold for 510.3 million yen (approximately 4.7 billion won) at the auction held on the morning of January 5. This amount greatly exceeds the previous record from 2019, which was 333.6 million yen (about 3.08 billion won), set since records began in 1999. Last year’s highest bid at the first auction was 207 million yen (approximately 1.9 billion won).
This year’s winning bidder was Kiyoshi Kimura, who operates the sushi chain “Sushi Zanmai”. The company had also won the highest bid for tuna at the New Year’s first auction in 2019. Kimura stated, “I wanted to have the tuna somehow when I saw it,” adding that although he was a bit surprised by the amount, he hopes many people enjoy the tuna and improve their health.
The highest-priced tuna will be processed at the Sushi Zanmai Tsukiji main store and sold at the same price as other tuna starting from that day. Additionally, at the Toyosu Market auction that day, sea urchins also fetched a record-breaking price, with 400 grams of Hokkaido sea urchin being sold for 35 million yen (about 320 million won), five times the previous highest price recorded last year.
Bluefin tuna, primarily used for sashimi, swim in the southern Pacific Ocean during winter at speeds reaching 90 km/h and migrate north in the spring and summer. Bluefin tuna is known to be rich in DHA and EPA, which lower blood cholesterol, and high in Vitamin D, promoting brain development, preventing aging, and supporting bone health.