Japanese sushi chain sets new record with $3.2M tuna purchase

Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants called Sushi Zanmai, poses with a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 5, 2026. (Reuters Photo)

by Reuters

Jan 06, 2026 11:13 am

A Japanese sushi restaurant bid 510 ‍million yen ($3.24 million) for a single bluefin tuna on Monday, by ‌far the highest-ever price ‍paid at the annual New Year's auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market.

Weighing 243 kilograms (536 pounds), the prized catch went to Kiyomura Corp., the Tokyo-based operator of popular sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai.

"I hope the economy will get better this year. The Takaichi administration pledged to work, work, work, ⁠so Sushizanmai will work, work, work too," said Kiyomura chief Kiyoshi Kimura, referring to the 2-1/2-month-old government of Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister.

"I hope this bid will cheer everyone up."

Kiyomura Co.'s President Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a chain of sushi restaurants Sushi Zanmai, holds a piece of meat from a 243-kilogram bluefin tuna auctioned for a record 510 million yen ($3.24 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market, at his sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 5, 2026. (Reuters Photo)

The eye-popping bid beat Kiyomura's own previous record ‌of 333.6 million yen in 2019.

"I thought that (the winning bid) would come in a little bit lower, maybe around 400 million or 300 ‍million yen, but it turned out to be over 500 million,” ‍Kimura, known ‍as the "Tuna King," told reporters.

The giant ⁠tuna was transported ‍to Sushizanmai's head branch, then sliced up and distributed to its restaurants nationwide. The tuna dishes will be sold to customers at ⁠the usual ‌price, Kimura said.

Last Update: January 06, 2026 15:19