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| Tuna fish | Photo: AFP |
A tuna fish has been sold in Japan for $1.3 million. The fish was sold for this price at a New Year's auction at a fish market in Tokyo on Sunday. This was the second highest price for a tuna at a New Year's auction.
The Onodera Group, which operates sushi restaurants, said it paid 207 million yen for the 276-kilogram (608-pound) bluefin tuna, which is about the same size and weight as a motorbike, according to news agency AFP. The Onodera Group runs a Michelin-starred sushi restaurant.
This is the highest price ever paid for a tuna sold at an auction on the first day of the year at Tokyo's main fish market, which has been collecting data on the market since 1999.
The highest price ever paid for tuna at auction was in 2019, when a 278kg tuna went for 333.6 million yen. The price was paid by self-proclaimed 'tuna king' Kyosho Kimura, who runs the nationwide Sushi Jinmai restaurant chain.
At that time, the fish market was located in the traditional Tsukiji area. Later, it was moved to the nearby Toyosu area. Modern facilities have been provided for the market here.
The Onodera Group has bought the highest-priced tuna at auction for five consecutive years, giving it a bragging right and making it the center of attention in the Japanese media.
"The first tuna of the year is something that brings good luck. We want people to eat it and have a wonderful year," Onodera Group official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction.
The Onodera Group paid the highest price of 144 million yen for the first tuna last year.
During the Covid pandemic, New Year's tuna fetched a much lower price than it does now. Back then, people were discouraged from eating out, and restaurants were operating on a limited scale.