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Agence France-Presse

Japan’s self-styled “Tuna King” has done it again – paying more than US$600,000 for a single fish.
Sushi entrepreneur Kiyoshi Kimura paid top price at the first auction of the new year at Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market on Thursday, bagging a prized bluefin tuna for an eye-watering 74.2 million yen (US$636,000).


The head of the Sushizanmai chain is now the proud – if temporary – owner of a 212kg fish.
At that price, a single piece of fatty tuna sushi would cost roughly US$85, or 25 times the US$3.4 that Kimura charges for the product at his 51 stores across Japan.
“I feel it was a bit expensive, but I am happy that I was able to successfully win at auction a tuna of good shape and size,” Kimura said.
Kimura has built his successful chain into a national brand by paying big money at Tsukiji’s first auction every year – he has now won for six straight years – essentially using the event for publicity.
He paid a record US$1.8 million for a bluefin – a threatened species – at the New Year auction in 2013, outbidding a rival bidder from Hong Kong.

Last year, he faced no formidable rival and paid a bargain US$117,000 for a 200kg tuna.
The prices may seem enormous, but Kimura makes sure to get the most value for money.
Every year, the boisterous auction, which takes place in the small hours, makes national headlines.
On Thursday, Kimura made the rounds of Japan’s major networks, telling viewers the tuna will be cut and distributed among his restaurants.
The 2017 auction could be the last at Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish market. It was originally supposed to move to a new location in November, but the plan was put on hold until at least late this year over concerns about toxic contamination at the new site.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike said in November that the move could even be delayed until the “spring of 2018” depending on results of health and environmental tests. But she also held out the possibility of scrapping the relocation altogether.


Japan’s ‘Tuna King’ wins annual auction with US$636,000 bid

Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura, with a 212kg bluefin tuna. Photo: EPA

epa05698666 A wholesaler inspects frozen tuna before the first auction of the year at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, Japan, 05 January 2017. A Bluefin tuna, which was caught in Oma, northern Japan, was sold for 74 million yen (631,000 US dollar), the second highest price ever, in the first auction of the new year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji Market. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

Japan’s reluctant sayonara to Tsukiji market: So long and thanks for all the fish

Pollution problems at its replacement site have let Tokyo’s top tourist attraction Tsukiji Fish Market off the hook, at least for the time being

Fishmongers inspect bluefin tuna before the first auction of the new year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on January 5, 2016. A 200kg bluefin tuna on January 5 was auctioned for 117,000 USD (14 million yen) at this year's first auction at the Tokyo fish market. Tsukiji market will close its doors after 80 years followed by a new market opening in Toyosu this autumn. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO / AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO

People attend the last Tsukiji Market festival held at the market’s current location in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday. In the center, a billboard bears messages from market workers such as “Thank you, Tsukiji.” Visitors enjoyed eating and shopping for seafood at the wholesale market that will be relocated to the Toyosu district in Tokyo’s Koto Ward later this year. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun )

The space beneath the facility to be used as a fruit and vegetable market is flooded with ankle-deep water in Koto Ward, Tokyo on Sept. 16, 2016.The Toyosu market will be relocated for a new market due to the aging Tsukiji fish market. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun )

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike answers questions during a press conference in Tokyo on August 31, 2016. Koike temporarily postponed a plan to move Tokyo's Tsukiji market over concerns about toxic pollution at the new site and the soaring costs of moving what is billed as the world's largest fish emporium. / AFP PHOTO / TORU YAMANAKA

Fishmongers inspect frozen bluefin tuna before the first auction of the new year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on January 5, 2016. A 200kg bluefin tuna on January 5 was auctioned for 117,000 USD (14 million yen) at this year's first auction at the Tokyo fish market. Tsukiji market will close its doors after 80 years followed by a new market opening in Toyosu this autumn. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO / AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO

A working man at the Tsukiji fish Market, Tokyo. The market is soon to be moved to a newer and bigger location, March 2016. Un travailleur du marché aux poissons de Tsukiji à Tokyo. Le marché va être déplacé sur un nouvel emplacement plus grand. Mars 2016

Visitors enjoy riding on a turret truck during the last Tsukiji Market festival held at the market’s current location in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday. In the center, a billboard bears messages from market workers such as “Thank you, Tsukiji.” Visitors enjoyed eating and shopping for seafood at the wholesale market that will be relocated to the Toyosu district in Tokyo’s Koto Ward later this year. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun )

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 31, 2016 shows a general view of Tsukiji market in Tokyo. New Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike reveals scandal after scandal regarding the site of Toyosu, where the old fish market of Tsukiji should have moved this week. / AFP PHOTO / TORU YAMANAKA / TO GO WITH STORY BY KARYN NISHIMURA-POUPEE

President of sushi restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai, Kiyoshi Kimura, witha 200kg bluefin tuna at his restaurant by Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market on January 5, 2016. The bluefin tuna was traded at 117,000 USD (14 million yen) at the wholesale market on the first trading day of the new year. Photo: AFP

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The 2017 auction could be the last at Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish market, which is scheduled to move to a new location
