From AFP
The Japanese passion for sushi is apparently immune to the global economic crisis.
A plump tuna on Monday fetched 9.6 million yen (104,300 dollars) at
This year’s first auction took place before dawn at the world’s largest fish market, with 730 tunas lined up for bidding.
The top-priced fish was a blue-fin tuna weighing 128 kilograms (282 pounds).
“I just wanted to bid on the best tuna of the day,†the winning buyer said, according to Jiji Press. He said he planned to sell the tuna to high-end sushi bars in
The highest price ever paid for a tuna at the market was 20 million yen in 2001.
Tsukiji market, the source of fresh sushi and sashimi flown daily to top restaurants the world over, has long topped must-see lists for foreign visitors to
But the auction was closed to tourists last month and may stay shut indefinitely after fishmongers complained that visitors were bad mannered.
The bluefin sold at USD 104,300
