Guinness-certified "sky-high" price tag: A billion-yen bluefin tuna sets a new record

At the first New Year's bluefin tuna auction at Tsukiji Market this year, the highest bid of 74.2 million yen — the second-highest price in history — was won by Kiyoshi Kimura (pictured holding the knife), owner of the Sushi Zanmai chain. This marks his sixth consecutive year winning the top bid at the annual New Year's auction. Photo / AP

Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market is one of Japan’s most iconic attractions, drawing countless tourists eager to savor the most authentic and fresh Japanese seafood cuisine. Among its highlights is the highly anticipated annual New Year’s bluefin tuna auction, which consistently commands astronomical prices. Recently, a bluefin tuna that sold for over a billion yen has officially been awarded a Guinness World Records certification.

According to a report by The Asahi Shimbun Chinese edition, in 2013, a 222-kilogram Oma bluefin tuna from Tsukiji Market was sold for a staggering 155.4 million yen (approximately NT$42.31 million), becoming the most talked-about high-price tuna auction of the year. At that auction price, eating a single piece of bluefin tuna sushi would cost nearly 50,000 yen (about NT$13,000).

The exorbitant bids for bluefin tuna have even earned Guinness recognition, and the winning vendor has now secured the top bid for six consecutive years. Recently, Guinness World Records officials officially presented the certificate for the “highest price ever paid for a tuna at auction.”