A massive 243-kilogram (535-pound) bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($3.2 million) at the first auction of 2026 at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market.

The top bidder for the prized tuna at the predawn auction on Monday was Kiyomura Corp., whose owner Kiyoshi Kimura runs the popular Sushi Zanmai chain. Kimura, who has won the annual action many times in the past, broke the previous record of 334 million yen ($2.1 million) he set in 2019.

Kimura later told reporters he was hoping to pay a bit less for it, but “the price shot up before you knew it.”

The pricey fish was caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, a region widely regarded for producing some of the country’s finest tuna.

China and South Korea pledge to bolster ties

China and South Korea’s leaders pledged to boost trade and safeguard regional stability on Monday during a visit to Beijing by the South Korean president that was overshadowed by North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met with Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of his four-day trip to China — his first since taking office in June.

As Xi hosted Lee at the Great Hall of the People, the Chinese president stressed the two countries’ “important responsibilities in maintaining regional peace and promoting global development,” according to a readout of their meeting broadcast by state-run CCTV.

Lee spoke about opening “a new chapter in the development of Korea-China relations” during “changing times.”