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Japanese Fisherman Sells 276 Kg Bluefin Tuna for $1.3 Million at Prestigious Tokyo Market, Standing Out as a Symbol of Tradition and Luxury in New Year Auctions
When someone goes out to sea to fish, they can have a bad, average, good, or exceptional day, as recently happened to Masahiro Takeuchi, a 73-year-old fisherman who, in recent days, has seen his name appear in newspapers and news broadcasts worldwide. The reason: a catch valued at $1.3 million. A ‘super catch’, to be more precise. While Takeuchi worries about how many more years he will have the strength to continue fishing, he managed to inspire admiration (and probably some envy) from his peers by catching a bluefin tuna weighing 276 kg and the size of a motorcycle.
A Millionaire Bluefin Tuna: A Catch That Made History in the Japanese Market
Such impressive measurements would be enough to leave his colleagues in awe, but what made Takeuchi famous was another reason: his tuna was just sold for $1.3 million at Japan’s most prestigious fish market.
A Tuna Like a House. Although it is enormous, the bluefin tuna caught by Masahiro Takeuchi is far from the size of a house. However, the value it reached in the market can be compared to the price of a well-located house in most cities in Brazil. Or even surpass it. His catch, a piece weighing 276 kg and the size of a motorcycle, as described by international press, was sold for 207 million yen, about $1.33 million or 8.1 million reais.
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“It was fat like a cow”. This is how the veteran fisherman described the fish to the Kyodo agency on Sunday, recalling the moment he saw the gigantic bluefin tuna caught the morning before with longlines off the coast of Oma, in the northeastern Aomori Prefecture. “It feels like a dream. I always worry about how many more years I can dedicate to this profession, but I feel incredibly happy,” he acknowledged before reporters. The merchandise was auctioned off on the 5th at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, one of the most prestigious in the industry in Japan.
Why Is It Special? 276 kg is a lot of weight, but the truth is that bluefin tunas can reach impressive sizes. NOAA details that Pacific specimens of up to three meters long and 450 kg have been recorded, although the norm is that they live on average 15 years and adults are about 1.5 m and 60 kg. Some sources state that there are Atlantic bluefin tunas that can live up to 30 years with a considerably greater weight.
If Takeuchi’s catch made headlines in outlets like Japan Times, CNN, BBC, and The Guardian, however, it is for another reason even more impressive than its size: the price it reached at auction, a value influenced by more than just its dimensions.
New Year Auctions: Tradition, Prestige, and Marketing in the Toyosu Market
It Matters What… and Where and When. The huge piece was not auctioned off just anywhere. It also wasn’t on just any day. The 276 kg bluefin tuna was part of the prestigious New Year auction, held early on Sunday — the auction started at 5:10 AM — at Japan’s main fish market, which added extra interest to the whole process. In fact, it was reported by Kyodo News and the France Press agency.
“The first tuna brings good luck”, acknowledged representatives of the company that made the winning bid and took the tuna home. “Our wish is that people eat it and have a wonderful year.” For now, the auction winner achieved something more than 276 kg of fish: visibility and fame akin to only the best marketing campaigns.
And what company is this? A familiar name: the Onodera Group, which is already showcasing the feat on its corporate website. The term “familiar” is used because this is not the first time the company, owner of sushi restaurants highlighted by the Michelin guide and with locations in Tokyo and Los Angeles, has managed to bring to its kitchens one of the most coveted pieces each season, the inaugural lot of the New Year auction. Onodera has been paying the highest price for five years.
Still, in January 2024, becoming the winner cost the company much less: at that time, it forked out 114.2 million yen, $720,000, far from the $1.3 million it just put on the table. The group clarifies that the huge (and millionaire) tuna will be served in most of its restaurants.
Impressive, but not a record. Curiously, the fish auctioned off on Sunday for $1.3 million is not the most expensive sold during the New Year event at the prestigious Japanese market.
At least, that’s what the Kyodo agency claims, which asserts that this honor still belongs to a bluefin tuna weighing 278 kg that, in 2019, reached the staggering figure of 333.6 million yen, around $2.1 million at today’s exchange rate. Its buyer: the “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura, owner of the national restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai. This record has stood since 1999 when the data began to be recorded.
Why Is It Important? Beyond the curiosity about the weight or price of Takeuchi’s catch on Sunday, there are those, like Kyodo itself, who interpret the value of the auctions in economic terms. For the agency, the figure for 2025, 1.8 times greater than that of 2024, “fuels hopes for continued economic recovery in Japan”.
After the 2019 record, prices fell with the arrival of the pandemic, leaving the 2021 auction at 20.8 million. In 2023, it rose to around 36 million, in 2024 it hit 114.2 million, and at the beginning of 2025, it marks a second record value in Toyosu.
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