Japan's sushi restaurant chain hit a record high when it paid more than $ 3 million for a blue fin tuna at the first auction this year in Tokyo's new fish market, breaking a record in 2013. .
Kiyoshi Chimura, who owns the Sushi Zanmai chain, paid 333.6 million yen ($ 3.1 million) for the 278 kg of fish caught off the coast of northern Japan's Aomori region, twice as much as six years ago.
"The tuna looks very appetizing and fresh, but I think I've overdone it," Kimura told reporters before the market later.
The auction was the first to be held by the new Tuso fish market, after the famous Tsukiji market was closed last year to provide temporary parking space in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
After the auction, the fish was transferred to a branch of the Sochi Zanmai series in the old Tsukiji market.
Tuna is one of the most expensive fish species worldwide to be used for sushi, but experts warn that the growing demand for it has made it an endangered species.