The Price of a Single Tuna Reaches a Staggering 2 Billion Won... Jackpot Hit at Japan's New Year's First Auction

At this year's first tuna auction held in Japan, a high-grade tuna species, bluefin tuna, was sold for nearly 2 billion yen.

According to Kyodo News and NHK on the 5th, at the year's first tuna auction held at Toyosu Market, Tokyo's seafood wholesale market, a 276 kg bluefin tuna from Oma, Aomori Prefecture was sold for 207 million yen (approximately 1.94 billion KRW). This large bluefin tuna was jointly purchased by a famous tuna wholesaler and the owner of a high-end sashimi restaurant. The two companies have purchased the highest-priced tuna at the beginning of the year for five consecutive years.

This winning bid is the second highest amount since auction records began in 1999. The highest ever price was recorded in 2019 at 333.6 million yen (approximately 3.12 billion KRW). This year's tuna auction price is about twice the highest price of 114.24 million yen (approximately 1.07 billion KRW) at last year's first tuna auction.

Bluefin tuna sold at nearly 2 billion won at Toyosu Market. Photo by NHK

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The president of the company that purchased the highest-priced tuna on this day said, "Tuna is an item that wishes for good luck," and added, "I won the auction with the thought of making everyone smile through food." The head of the Oma Fisheries Cooperative said, "It received a higher evaluation than expected," and "A good start will be an encouragement to the fishermen."

Meanwhile, Toyosu Market, known as the "kitchen of Tokyo," holds the first tuna auction of the new year every January 5th. The tuna sold at the highest price in this auction is called "Ichiban (best) tuna," and there is a superstition that the store that wins this tuna will have good luck throughout the year, leading to fierce competition among bidders.

In particular, this tuna auction is also regarded as an indicator showing Japan's economic outlook. The higher the winning bid, the more likely the Japanese economy is to show a favorable trend. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of Ichiban tuna dropped significantly. Ichiban tuna recorded 20.84 million yen (approximately 194 million KRW) in 2021 and 16.88 million yen (approximately 157 million KRW) in 2022, respectively.

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