A tuna fish in Japan was sold for $13 million, marking the second-highest price ever recorded.

 A tuna fish in Japan was sold for $13 million, marking the second-highest price ever recorded.

In Japan, a tuna fish was sold for $1.3 million, which is equivalent to approximately 158.6 million Bangladeshi Taka (based on the exchange rate of 122 Taka per dollar). This sale took place during the New Year auction at a fish market in Tokyo. It became the second-highest price ever for a tuna sold at a New Year's auction.

The tuna, a bluefin weighing 276 kilograms (608 pounds), was purchased by the Ono Group, which operates Michelin-starred sushi restaurants. The group paid 20.7 million yen for the fish. The size of the tuna was comparable to a motorbike. This tuna was sold at the first auction of the year, and its price surpassed the previous highest price at the Tokyo fish market since 1999.

The highest price ever paid for a tuna was in 2019, when a 278-kilogram tuna was sold for 33.36 million yen by the self-proclaimed "Tuna King," Kiyoshi Kimura, who owns a nationwide chain of sushi restaurants.

In recent years, the Tokyo fish market, originally in the traditional Tsukiji area, moved to the more modern Toyosu area, with improved facilities.

This year, the Ono Group secured the most expensive tuna at auction for the fifth consecutive year, making them a prominent name in Japanese media. After the auction, Shinji Nagao from the Ono Group remarked that the first tuna of the year is considered a symbol of good luck, and their hope is for people to enjoy the fish and have a wonderful year.

Last year, the Ono Group paid a record 14.4 million yen for the first tuna of the year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Year’s tuna fetched much lower prices as people were discouraged from dining out, and restaurants were operating on a limited basis.