Japan: Tone 276 kg Sold Over $1.3 Million

A red , weighing 276 kg and with a size comparable to a motorcycle, sold for $1.3 million on its most famous fish auction , marking the second highest price recorded during the auction for the new year. The famous tone was claimed by star-winning Michelin sushi restaurants, Onodera Group – the purchase took place yesterday (05.01.2025) at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish auction in Japan as broadcast by the Japanese Kyodo news agency. CORVERSE The offer marks the second highest price since the wholesale seafood market, considered the largest in the world, began collecting data in 1999, according to Kyodo. The highest bid recorded is $3.1 million for a ton of 278 kg in 2019. Salesmen from all over the country take their best catches to auction on the market most mornings of the week. But the famous auction of the new year is of particular importance to the bidders gathered to claim the first catch of the year. “The first tone of the year brings good luck. We want to make people smile,” said Shinji Nagao, president of Sushi Onodera, whom Kyodo invokes. CORVERSE The group is behind the star-winning Michelin chain Sushi Ginza Onodera with restaurants in Tokyo and Los Angeles. It is the fifth consecutive year that Onodera Group pays the highest price , after last year paid over $720,000 for a ton at the auction, according to Sushi Ginza Onodera’s website. The fisherman behind the catch, Masahiro Takeuchi, described in the Japanese media how “unbelievably happy” he was. “I always worry about how many years I will be able to continue fishing like this,” said the 73-year-old, according to the NHK national broadcasting network. The fish auction first opened in 1935, originally located in Tsukiji and was one of Tokyo’s most popular travel destinations. It was moved to Toyosu, a nearby artificial island, in October 2019. The relocation was accepted with mixed reviews: supporters supported the upgrading of the facilities, while critics hit the loss of its iconic position. Red tuna is the largest ton and can live up to 40 years, according to the World Fund for Nature (WWF). Threatened species migrate across the oceans, may weigh 1,500 pounds and reach 10 feet in length. In recent decades, their populations have been significantly reduced by overfishing and illegal fishing, according to the WWF.