Japanese sushi chain pays record $3.2 million for bluefin tuna at Tokyo auction
Japanese sushi chain pays record $3.2 million for bluefin tuna at Tokyo auction
Weighing 243 kg, the prized catch went to Kiyomura Corp, the Tokyo-based operator of popular sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai.
Reuters
Published 05.01.26, 02:37 PM
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Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, poses with a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026. (Pictures: REUTERS)
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A Japanese sushi restaurant bid 510 million yen ($3.24 million) for a single bluefin tuna on Monday, by far the highest-ever price paid at the annual New Year auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.
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Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, holds a piece of meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
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Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, poses with a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
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A staff member of Kiyomura Co, which runs a chain of sushi restaurants, Sushi Zanmai, poses with the head of a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, after cutting the tuna at the sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
Weighing 243 kg (536 pounds), the prized catch went to Kiyomura Corp, the Tokyo-based operator of popular sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai.
“I hope the economy will get better this year. The Takaichi administration pledged to work, work, work, so Sushizanmai will work, work, work too," said Kiyomura chief Kiyoshi Kimura, referring to the four-month-old government of Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister. "I hope this bid will cheer everyone up."
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A staff member of Kiyomura Co, which runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, poses with meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, after cutting the tuna at the sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
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Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, cuts meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
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Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, cuts meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
The eye-popping bid beat Kiyomura's own previous record of 333.6 million yen in 2019.
"I thought that (the winning bid) would come in a little bit lower, maybe around 400 million or 300 million yen but it turned out to be over 500 million,” Kimura, known as the "Tuna King", told reporters.
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Staff members of Kiyomura Co., which runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, carry meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, after cutting the tuna at the sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
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People stand in line to eat sushi made from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, outside Sushi Zanmai restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, January 5, 2026.
The giant tuna was transported to Sushizanmai's head branch, then sliced up and distributed to its restaurants nationwide. The tuna dishes will be sold to customers at the usual price, Kimura said.
Tuesday, 06 January 2026
