Japan’s ‘Tuna King’ spends $1.8 million for a 267 kg Fish

A Japanese businessman known as the Tuna King really goes to great lengths when it comes to giving sushi lovers the “best” Bluefin tuna. This year he paid 193.2mn yen ($1.8mn) for one, the second-highest price on record.

It is the second year in a row that Kiyoshi Kimura, who heads a popular sushi restaurant chain, was the most successful bidder at the traditional New Year’s auction at Tokyo’s main fish market, Toyosu.

On Sunday, he bought a 276 kg (608-pound) Bluefin tuna, caught off the Aomori region in northern Japan, to please his customers.

The entrepreneur added that despite the high price, he was happy to win as it is the first New Year’s auction in the new era, Reiwa, which started in May of last year when Crown Prince Naruhito became the emperor.

A fish weighing just 2 kg more was sold for a record $3.1 million at last year’s auction in Tokyo – the most expensive tuna ever sold. The record belongs to Kimura, who is also famous for buying very expensive fish at past auctions.

Crickey Curacao Conservation Society 2020.