Tuna sells for $1.8 million in first Tokyo auction of 2020, second highest ever

Kiyoshi Kimura, center, owner of Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai, displays the ¥193.2 million bluefin tuna bought at auction on Sunday, January 5, 2020. (AFP)

Kiyoshi Kimura, left, owner of Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai, looks on as employees slice up the ¥193.2 million bluefin tuna bought at auction on Sunday, January 5, 2020. (AFP)

Employees of Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai slice up the ¥193.2 million bluefin tuna bought at auction on Sunday, January 5, 2020. (AFP)

Wholesalers hold an opening ceremony prior to the New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market on Sunday, January 5, 2020. (AFP)

• Tuna was caught off northern Aomori Prefecture and weighed 276 kilograms
• Last year Kiyoshi Kimura paid a record ¥333.6 million for a tuna at the auction

TOKYO: A bluefin tuna sold for ¥193.2 million ($1.8 million) in the first auction of the new year at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, the second highest price on record, NHK broadcaster reported.
The tuna was caught off northern Aomori Prefecture and weighed 276 kilograms (608lbs), according to NHK, which translates into a price of about ¥700,000 per kilogram.
The successful bidder was Kiyoshi Kimura, the head of the company that runs sushi restaurant chain “Sushizanmai,” NHK said.
Last year Kimura paid a record ¥333.6 million for a tuna at the auction, exceeding his previous record price in 2013.