Bluefin Tuna Fetches 4.5 Mil. Yen At Tokyo Auction

TOKYO, JAPAN - JAN. 5: A bluefin tuna fetched 4.51 million yen, or 25,000 yen per kilogram, in the first auction of the year at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo on Monday. The winning bidder for the 180-kg tuna from Oma, Aomori prefecture, was Tokyo-based sushi restaurant chain operator Kiyomura Co., which also made a successful bid on the same occasion last year. The price of the tuna the previous year had settled at 7.36 million yen, far lower than a record 155.4 million yen in 2013, which was also paid by Kiyomura, as competitors avoided costly races. Kiyoshi Kimura, president of Kiyomura, noted that the volume of tuna on the market was greater this year. But "I thought the price could be a little higher," he said. The company plans to offer the tuna at its restaurants nationwide. A market source said this year's price was somewhat lower than usual and reasonable, adding that the bidding in 2013 was extraordinarily overheated and is unlikely to take place again.