Bluefin Tuna Sells for Unprecedented Bid of 3.2 million dollars at Tokyo New Year Sale

A substantial bluefin tuna created waves at the Toyosu fish market this Monday, achieving a record-breaking bid of 510.3 million yen ($3.2m; £2.4m) during the market's inaugural auction of the calendar year.

The top bid for the 243kg fish was placed by the company of a popular sushi chain, which manages locations across the country and internationally.

"The year's tuna heralds good luck," stated the company president, a notable figure at the yearly new year's auction.

Known as the Tuna King, this entrepreneur is renowned for submitting substantial bids for bluefin tuna at these symbolic new year auctions.

Auction Shock and Historic Precedent

After the auction, the successful bidder admitted to reporters that he was "taken aback at the final price," noting, "I believed we would be able to purchase it a little cheaper, but the price escalated rapidly."

This latest purchase tops his own record purchases:

• He paid 56.5 million yen back in 2012.
• He paid 155 million yen the following year.
• In 2019, he acquired a tuna for 333.6 million yen (2.1 million dollars).

Even after once commenting that he thought he "did too much," he has now gone on to break his personal record another time.

A Tradition of High Prices

The inaugural auction at the Tokyo fish market is traditionally associated with sky-high prices. In the prior year, the first tuna was purchased for 207 million yen by another culinary group, which announced the fish would be served at its locations across Japan.

The frenetic energy at the fish market during these pre-sunrise auctions has become a popular spectacle in Tokyo. Monday's auction, which commenced around 05:00 local time, was no exception.

From Auction to Plate

The record-priced tuna was shortly thereafter sliced up for diners at the bidder's sushi restaurants soon after the auction concluded.

"I feel like I've started the year in a positive way after eating something so fortune-bringing as the year begins," remarked one happy patron.