Japan Navigator

Tsukiji, Tokyo’s famous fish market has held its first tuna auction of the New Year. This is always an opportunity for someone to show off his financial prowess by buying a fish caught in waters around Japan for an exorbitant prize.

This year the buyer was a Hong Kong-based sushi restaurant chain owner (!), an indication of the rapid internationalisation of Japanese food.

The bluefin was caught in waters near Aomori Prefecture and sold for 6.07 million yen, a five-year high. It weighed 276 kilograms, so that is a hefty 22,000 yen per kilo.

Will ordinary tuna also get as expensive as the one at this special auction?

Unfortunately, prices are bound to rise due to tightening controls on catches and rising fuel costs. Japan will have increasing problems to secure a stable supply of tuna, as also China and Russia are starting to like the big fishes, with stocks world-wide down to already dangerously low levels.

(Thanks to Yahoo Asia News)