A giant bluefin tuna captured the spotlight at Tokyo’s New Year auction, fetching a record price that stunned the seafood world.
A Jaw-Dropping Sale
The 243-kilogram tuna sold for 510 million yen, or roughly €2.78 million, at the first auction of 2026 at Toyosu fish market. The winning bidder was Kiyomura Corp., owned by Kiyoshi Kimura, the founder of the well-known Sushi Zanmai chain. Kimura, a regular at the annual New Year auction, smashed his own 2019 record of 334 million yen. He later admitted he had hoped to pay a bit less, but “the price shot up before you knew it.”
Oma Tuna: Japan’s Finest
The prized fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, a region famous for producing some of the country’s best bluefin. At the predawn auction, bidders walked among rows of torpedo-shaped tuna, tails removed so they could inspect color, texture, and fat content. The Oma tuna sold for 2.1 million yen (€11,500) per kilogram. Kimura said part of the purchase was for good luck, but he added, “When I see a good-looking tuna, I cannot resist. I haven’t sampled it yet, but it’s got to be delicious.”
Tradition Meets Conservation
While hundreds of tuna are sold daily at Toyosu, prices spike for the celebratory New Year auction, particularly for prized Oma tuna. Pacific bluefin tuna were once a threatened species due to overfishing and climate change, but conservation efforts have helped stocks recover, allowing Japan to continue enjoying high-quality tuna sustainably.
