• First auction of 2026 witnesses a new record for tuna prices
• Fish sold for $3.2 million

A bluefin tuna weighing 243 kilograms was sold at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market for 510 million yen (about $3.2 million), setting a new record.

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Kiyomura Corp., owned by Kiyoshi Kimura, the owner of the famous Sushi Zanmai restaurant chain, was the highest bidder for the tuna on Monday.

Kimura broke the previous record of 334 million yen (about $2.1 million) set in 2019.

Kimura told reporters that he had hoped to pay less, but “the price shot up before you knew it.”

The auction began with the ringing of the bell, and the fish were displayed on the floor after their tails were removed so buyers could examine meat details such as color, texture, and fat content.

The fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, famous for producing some of the finest tuna, and is priced at 2.1 million yen per kilogram (about $13,360 per kilogram).

Kimura added: “Part of it is for luck, but when I see a good tuna, I cannot resist… I haven’t tasted it yet, but it’s definitely delicious.”

Hundreds of tuna are sold daily in the early morning auction, but Oma tuna prices rise significantly during the New Year auction.

Due to the popularity of tuna for sushi and sashimi, Pacific bluefin tuna was previously threatened by climate change and overfishing, but its stock has started to recover thanks to conservation efforts.