Japan 'Tuna King' buys new year catch for $1.8 million

Tokyo: A celebrated Japanese sushi businessman, nicknamed 'Tuna King', paid $1.8 million for a giant tuna at New Year's auction at Tokyo's main fish market.

Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a successful sushi restaurant chain, paid 193 million yen ($1.8 million) to purchase a 276-kilogramme (608-pound) bluefin tuna, caught off the Aomori region in northern Japan.

Wholesalers participate in the New Year's auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. "This is the best," Kimura told reporters after the pre-dawn auction.

Wholesalers hold an opening ceremony prior to the New Year's auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market . "Yes, this is expensive, isn't it? I want our customers to eat very tasty ones this year too," he said.

Media-savvy Kimura regularly pays top price at the first auction of the year at the Japanese capital's main fish market, making himself and his business a fixture in national news during this season.

In last year's new year auction, Kimura paid a record $3.1 million to win a 278-kilogramme (612-pound) tuna.

The traditional auction is now being held in a new market in an area called Toyosu.

The world-famous Tsukiji market, which had long served as a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops, closed in 2018.

Employees for Kiyomura Corp. dismantle a bluefin tuna the company bought for 193.2 million yen (1.8 million USD) at auction at their main restaurant in Tokyo.

Kiyoshi Kimura (C), president of Kiyomura Corp., the Tokyo-based operator of sushi restaurant chain Sushizanmai, poses with a sword before slicing up a bluefin tuna the company bought for 193.2 million yen (1.8 million USD) at auction at his main restaurant in Tokyo.