TOKYO (AP) — A massive 243-kilogram (535-pound) bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($3.2 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, The Associated Press reported.
The predawn auction began on Monday when a bell rang, and the floor was filled with torpedo-shaped fish with their tails cut off so bidders could examine meat details such as color, texture and fattiness while walking around the rows of tuna.
The top bidder for the prized tuna was Kiyomura Corp., AP reported. Kiyomura Corp. is owned by Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain. Kimura has won the annual auction many times in the past, AP said, and he broke the previous record of 334 million yen ($2.1 million) he set in 2019.
Kimura told reporters he had been hoping to pay “a bit less,” but said “the price shot up before you knew it.”
AP said the tuna was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, a region widely regarded for producing some of the country’s finest tuna. The fish’s final price worked out to 2.1 million yen ($13,360) per kilogram ($6,060 per pound).
Kimura said the annual auction includes a “good luck” element, adding: “But when I see a good looking tuna, I cannot resist … I haven’t sampled it yet, but it’s got to be delicious.”
AP said hundreds of tuna are sold daily at the early morning auction, but prices are significantly higher than usual for the Oma tuna, especially at the celebratory New Year auction. It also noted that Pacific bluefin tuna was previously a threatened species due to climate change and overfishing, and that its stock is recovering following conservation efforts.