Particle.news
Download on the App Store
19 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

‘Tuna King’ Sets Record With ¥510.3 Million Bluefin at Tokyo’s New Year Auction

Conservationists use the record sale to press for a long-term plan to safeguard recovering Pacific bluefin.

Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura Co., poses with the bluefin tuna that won the highest bid at the annual New Year auction in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Image
Image
'Tuna King' Kiyoshi Kimura stumped up a record $3.2 million for the hefty bluefin tuna

Overview

  • Kiyomura Corp., led by sushi magnate Kiyoshi Kimura, paid 510.3 million yen (about $3.2 million) for the top fish at Toyosu, the highest price since records began in 1999.
  • The 243-kilogram bluefin was caught off Oma in Aomori prefecture and was taken to Sushizanmai’s Tsukiji head branch to be cut and distributed nationwide.
  • Despite the record purchase, Sushizanmai said portions from the fish will be sold at normal menu prices across its restaurants.
  • The new high follows a post-pandemic rebound at the New Year auction, with top bids rising from 36.0 million yen in 2023 to 114.2 million in 2024 and 207.0 million in 2025.
  • Pew Charitable Trusts’ Dave Gershman said a 2017 recovery plan is helping Pacific bluefin stocks and urged fisheries managers to adopt a long-term, sustainable management plan in 2026.