TOKYO \u2014
Japan\u2019s self-styled \u201cTuna King\u201d has done it again\u2014paying more than 74 million yen for a single fish.
Sushi entrepreneur Kiyoshi Kimura paid top price at the first auction of the new year at Tokyo\u2019s Tsukiji fish market on Thursday, bagging a prized bluefin tuna for an eye-watering 74.2 million yen ($636,000).
The head of the Sushizanmai chain is now the proud\u2014if temporary\u2014owner of a 212-kilogram fish.
At that price a single piece of fatty tuna sushi would cost roughly 25 times what Kimura charges for the product at his 51 stores across Japan.
\u201cI feel it was a bit expensive, but I am happy that I was able to successfully win at auction a tuna of good shape and size,\u201d Kimura said.
Kimura has built his successful chain into a national brand by paying big money at Tsukiji\u2019s first auction every year\u2014he has now won for six straight years\u2014essentially using the event for publicity.
He paid a record $1.8 million for a bluefin\u2014a threatened species\u2014at the New Year auction in 2013, outbidding a rival bidder from Hong Kong.
Last year, he faced no formidable rival and paid a bargain $117,000 for a 200-kilogram tuna.
The prices may seem enormous, but Kimura makes sure to get the most out of his money.
Every year, the boisterous auction, which takes place in the small hours, makes national headlines.
On Thursday, Kimura made the rounds of Japan\u2019s major networks, telling viewers the tuna will be cut and distributed among his restaurants.
The 2017 auction could be the last at Tsukiji, the world\u2019s largest fish market.
It was originally supposed to move to a new location in November, but the plan was put on hold until at least late this year over concerns about toxic contamination at the new site.
Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike said in November that the move could even be delayed until the \u201cspring of 2018\u201d depending on results of health and environmental tests.
But she also held out the possibility of scrapping the relocation altogether.
\u00a9 2017 AFP<\/p>\n