English 
Spanish 
5 min read
0 comments
Japanese fisherman sells 276kg bluefin tuna for $1,3 million at prestigious Tokyo market, standing out as symbol of tradition and luxury at New Year auctions
When someone goes out to sea to fish, they can have a bad, average, good or exceptional day, as happened recently with Masahiro Takeuchi, a 73-year-old fisherman who, in recent days, has seen his name appear in newspapers and television news programs around the world. The reason: a catch valued at 1,3 million dollars. A 'super catch', to be precise. Although Takeuchi worries about how many more years he will have the strength to continue fishing, he has managed arouse admiration (and probably some envy) of his colleagues when he caught a 276 kg bluefin tuna the size of a motorbike.
A millionaire bluefin tuna: a catch that made history in the Japanese market
Such impressive measurements would be enough to leave his fellow fishermen speechless, but what made Takeuchi famous was another reason: his tuna has just been sold for 1,3 million dollars at Japan's most prestigious fish market.
A tuna like a house. Although it is huge, the bluefin tuna caught by Masahiro Takeuchi is far from the size of a house. However, the value it reached on 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 276-kilo piece the size of a motorcycle, as described by the international press, was sold for 207 million yen, around 1,33 million dollars or 8,1 million reais.
- Bible Sanctuary OPENS for the first time in 3.000 years
- The most charming train ride in Brazil! Discover the ride you need to take at least once in your life
- No Volkswagen, Toyota or BYD: Brazil's most modern automotive factory belongs to the company that is often overlooked by Brazilians
- Tunelão, the largest railway tunnel in Brazil, offers a breathtaking crossing in just 12 minutes and changes the game for national transport
“It was as fat as a cow,” the veteran fisherman described the fish to Kyodo on Sunday, recalling the moment he saw the giant bluefin tuna caught the previous morning with a longline off the coast of Oma, in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori. “It’s like a dream. I always worry about how many more years I can dedicate myself to this profession, but I feel incredibly happy,” he admitted to reporters. The haul was auctioned on the 5th at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo, one of the most prestigious in the sector in Japan.
Why is it special? 276 kilos is a lot of kilos, but the truth is that bluefin tuna can reach impressive sizes. NOAA details that specimens from the Pacific measuring three meters long and weighing 450 kilos have been recorded, although the average lifespan is 15 years and adults are around 1,5 m and 60 kg. Some sources claim that there are Atlantic bluefin tuna that can live up to 30 years with a considerably higher weight.
If Takeuchi's capture made headlines in outlets such as the Japan Times, CNN, BBC and The Guardian, however, it is for another reason, even more impressive than its size: the price it fetched at auction, a value influenced by more than just its dimensions.
New Year Auctions: Tradition, Prestige and Marketing at Toyosu Market
It matters what… and where and when. The enormous piece was not auctioned off just anywhere. Nor was it on an ordinary day. The 276-kilo bluefin tuna was part of the prestigious New Year's auction, held early Sunday morning — the auction began at 5:10 a.m. — at the main fish market in the Japanese capital, which gave the whole process extra interest. In fact, Kyodo News and Agence France Presse reported on it.
“The first tuna brings good luck,” acknowledged representatives of the company that made the winning bid and took the tuna home. “Our hope is that people eat it and have a wonderful year.” For now, the auction winner has gotten more than just 276 pounds of fish: visibility and fame that only the best marketing campaigns can achieve.
And what company is this? An old acquaintance: the Onodera Group, which already boasts the feat on its corporate website. The term “old” is because this is not the first time that the company, which owns Michelin-starred sushi restaurants and has locations in Tokyo and Los Angeles, has managed to bring to its kitchens one of the most coveted pieces of each season, the inaugural lot of the New Year’s auction. Onodera has already paid the highest price for the past five years.
However, in January 2024, becoming the winner cost the company much less: on that occasion, it paid out 114,2 million yen, or 720.000 dollars, a far cry from the 1,3 million it has just put on the table. The group clarifies that the enormous (and million-dollar) tuna will be available in most of its restaurants.
Impressive, but not a record. Interestingly, the fish that sold for $1,3 million on Sunday is not the most expensive fish auctioned during the New Year event at the prestigious Japanese market.
At least that’s what Kyodo News Agency says, stating that this honor still belongs to a 278-kilo bluefin tuna that, in 2019, fetched an impressive 333,6 million yen, around 2,1 million dollars at the current exchange rate. Its buyer: the “Tuna King” Kiyoshi Kimura, head of the national restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai. This is the record since 1999, when data began to be recorded.
Why is it important? Beyond curiosity about the weight or price of Takeuchi’s capture on Sunday, there are those, like Kyodo itself, who interpret the value of the auctions in economic terms. For the agency, the value of 2025, 1,8 times higher than that of 2024, “feeds hopes for a continued economic recovery in Japan”.
After the record in 2019, 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 reached 114,2 million and, at the beginning of 2025, it marks a second record value in Toyosu.
