Motorbike-sized tuna sells for £1m at Tokyo auction

The top bidder at a fish market auction in Tokyo has paid more than one million pounds for a tuna.

The 276kg bluefin tuna – around the size and weight of a motorbike – was bought for 207m yen (£1.05m) at Toyosu Fish Market.

The winning bid was made by Michelin-starred sushi restaurateurs the Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki.

The sum is the second highest ever paid at the market’s opening auction of the year – and the fifth successive year the buyers have forked out the top price.

The highest tuna price remains 333.6m yen (£1.7m), paid by restaurant owner Kiyoshi Kimura in 2019 for a 278kg bluefin.

The Onodera Group said the latest catch, which was caught in waters off the northern town of Oma, will be served at restaurants across the country.

The buyers said the large sum was paid to secure the tuna because its “unmatched freshness stood out”, reported The Japan Times.

In a separate record-breaking sale, around 350g of Hokkaido sea urchins went for 7m yen (£35,500).

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Officials have claimed the Toyosu Fish Market is the biggest in the world.

Buyers believe securing the first catch at the opening auction of the year helps to bring good fortune.