Tuna Fetching US$1.3 Mil In New Year Auction Fuels Japan Economy Hopes

TOKYO, Jan 5 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- A bluefin tuna fetched 207 million yen (US$1.3 million) during the year's first auction at a popular fish market in Tokyo on Sunday, the second highest price on record and fuelling hopes for a continued economic recovery in Japan, Kyodo News Agency reported.

With an array of tuna on the block, the lively auction began at 5.10 am at the Toyosu market, which has become one of the capital's major tourist spots in recent years.

The 276-kilogramme tuna, caught off the coast of Oma in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, was jointly bought by an intermediate wholesaler and a company that operates the Sushi Ginza Onodera chain of restaurants.

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"The year's first tuna brings good luck. We want to make people smile with food," said Shinji Nagao, the president of the sushi restaurant operator.

In 2019, a bluefin tuna fetched 333.6 million yen, the top price since comparable data became available in 1999, in the first New Year auction since the iconic Tsukiji fish market was relocated to Toyosu.

But with advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the price for 2021 plunged to 20.8 million.

The price then increased to 36.0 million yen in 2023 and 114.2 million yen in 2024.

"It was as fat as a cow," said 73-year-old fisherman Masahiro Takeuchi, recalling the moment he saw the giant tuna caught on a longline on Saturday morning.

"It's like a dream. I'm always worried about how many more years I can do this job, but I'm incredibly happy," he told reporters in Oma.

-- BERNAMA