Japan tuna price soars past $270,000 at New Year auction

TOKYO, Japan — The top-selling tuna at Tokyo's traditional New Year auction sold for more than $270,000 on Thursday, nearly double last year's price, breaking a pandemic trend of slumping demand.

Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Onodera Group and Japanese wholesaler Yamayuki forked out 36.04 million yen ($273,000) for the 212-kilo bluefin tuna in the auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.

The figure was still only a fraction of the 2019 record price but marks a recovery for the symbolic auction after three years in which prices slumped.

Last year's top-selling tuna, bought by the same pair of bidders, went for just 16.88 million yen, with observers blaming subdued demand as a COVID-19 wave ripped through Japan in early 2022.

The New Year auction is highly anticipated, and securing the top-priced tuna offers bidders bragging rights.

For years, the top bid came from self-proclaimed "Tuna King" Kiyoshi Kimura, who paid a record $3.1 million in 2019.

But in recent years, Kimura has held back, citing the pandemic.