Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market kicked off the new year with a record-breaking tuna sale in its first auction of 2026.
"When I see a good-looking tuna, I cannot resist," the auction's winner said following the record-shattering sale
i-rKiyoshi Kimura displays the record-breaking bluefin tuna he bought at auction for moret than $3 million in Tokyo on January 5, 2026 at Toyosu fish market. (Photo by JIJI PRESS / AFP via Getty Images) / Japan OUT
Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market kicked off the new year with a record-breaking tuna sale in its first auction of 2026.
The 535-pound prized bluefin tuna sold for $3.2 million, or 510 million Japanese yen, during an early morning bidding war on Monday, according to the Associated Press.
The tuna was purchased by Kiyomura Corp, which operates the Sushi Zanmai chain, with locations in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Los Angeles.
Its owner, Kiyoshia Kimura, set the previous record at the market when he bought a tuna for $2.1 million in 2019.
The price for this year’s record-breaking fish “went up and up and up,” Kimura told the press in Japanese. “It was like being on a jet coaster ride. It went higher than expected.” He said he'd been hoping to pay less for the fish.
YUICHI YAMAZAKI / Contributor / Getty Images
“We are going to face some funding issues,” he added. “I need to work hard.”
He shelled out so much for the fish, which was caught in northern Japan off the coast of the town of Oma, “in part for good luck,” he said.
“When I see a good-looking tuna, I cannot resist," he told reporters.
Kimura praised the fish’s “shape and its fine-grained fat,” telling the media, “I think it would taste great, too.” He hadn’t yet tried it at the time of his interview.
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