Tokyo (AFP)

Tokyo New Year's Tuna Sale ended Tuesday without the usual bidding, with Japan's "King of the Tuna" refraining from bidding on the flagship fish citing the pandemic affecting the industry catering.

The most expensive fish of the day - a 208 kg bluefin tuna caught off the northern Aomori region, known for the quality of its tuna - was bought by another bidder for 20.84 million yen ( 165,000 euros).

It is only a fraction of the millions of euros that sushi businessman and self-proclaimed "King of Tuna" Kiyoshi Kimura has spent in recent years to achieve the fame that accompanies the purchase of tuna. most prized of this annual auction.

Last year Mr Kimura paid 1.5 million euros for a 276 kg bluefin tuna and in 2019 he paid a record 2.7 million euros for a 278 kg fish.

However, Mr Kimura has said he wants to show restraint this year because the coronavirus pandemic has caused a lot of hardship for restaurants and other businesses.

“I didn't bid the highest this year because it's time to control yourself,” he told reporters gathered to see him after the auction held before dawn at Toyosu fish market.

“I didn't think it was appropriate to party this time,” he said.

Mr. Kimura typically uses his purchases to secure national media coverage for himself and his hugely popular sushi restaurant chain.

Usually, after winning the annual auction and bringing his catch back to one of his restaurants, he slices the fish into fillets with a huge saber-like knife, makes them into sushi and serves them to customers at no additional cost, all of it. in front of an army of television cameras.

The most expensive tuna this year was jointly purchased by a famous wholesaler named Yukitaka Yamaguchi, a recurring guest on TV shows that supplies top sushi restaurants and a major food company, according to local media.

For this year's auction, fish wholesalers wore masks and sanitized their hands before examining the texture of the tuna's tail, smelling and sometimes tasting pieces.

No spectators were allowed to attend the event, which is now held at Toyosu Market, after Tokyo's famous fish market left its former site in Tsukiji in 2018.

© 2021 AFP