"47 Billion Won Bluefin" Sets Guinness World Record for Highest-Priced Tuna

Bluefin Tuna Featured at Japan’s New Year Auction
Serves as a Barometer for the Country’s Domestic Economy

This year’s first tuna auction in Japan broke the Guinness World Record for the highest price ever paid for a bluefin tuna, reaching approximately 4.7 billion won.

According to local media outlets such as Kyodo News on the 27th (local time), Kimura Kiyoshi, president of Kiyomura, which operates the Japanese sushi chain “Sushi Zanmai,” received the Guinness World Record certificate at the Sushi Zanmai main branch located at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Outer Market. The certificate presentation coincided with the 25th anniversary of the main branch’s opening.

Kimura participated in the year’s first tuna auction held at Toyosu Market on January 5. At the time, the company purchased a massive bluefin tuna weighing 243kg for 510.3 million yen (approximately 4.7 billion won). This far surpasses the previous record of 333.6 million yen (around 3.1 billion won) set in 2019.

President Kiyoshi Kimura, who is cutting a bluefin tuna sold for 4.7 billion won. YouTube screenshot

As a result, the bluefin tuna auctioned this time set a new Guinness World Record. This particular bluefin tuna inhabits the Oma region of Aomori Prefecture, located at the northernmost tip of Honshu, Japan, and is considered the highest grade tuna in the country.

In Japan, there is a custom of winning and consuming premium tuna at the first auction of the new year as a sign of good fortune. For this reason, the competition at the first tuna auction of the year is always fierce. In particular, a sushi restaurant that succeeds in winning the highest-priced tuna can enjoy considerable publicity among seafood enthusiasts.

Sushi Zanmai processed the auctioned tuna at its main branch, then distributed and sold it at its various locations. The company previously won a Guinness World Record as well, having purchased a bluefin tuna for 155.4 million yen (about 1.4 billion won) at the 2013 auction.

President Kimura commented, “Rather than feeling happy, I just think it was incredibly difficult. I ended up buying an extremely expensive tuna for 500 million yen,” adding, “It’s been tough, so I’m working hard, and I will make sure to land the very best tuna.”

Tuna Auction Held Every January... Also Serves as an Indicator for Japan’s Domestic Economy

Inside Toyosu Market. Photo by Japan Tourism Agency

Meanwhile, Toyosu Market, where the auction was held, is known as “the kitchen of Tokyo” and is a renowned seafood market. The first tuna auction of the new year, held here every January 5, is also used as an indicator for Japan’s economic outlook. The logic is that the higher the winning bid for the tuna, the fiercer the competition among high-end sushi restaurants, which in turn reflects the overall economic sentiment in Japan for that year.

The price of the highest bid tuna tends to fluctuate greatly depending on Japan’s economic outlook. Toyosu Market also faced difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 and 2022, the highest winning bids were only 20.84 million yen (about 189 million won) and 16.88 million yen (about 153 million won), respectively. However, starting from 2024, the highest winning bid returned to the 100 million yen range, and this year, it surpassed 500 million yen.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.