Kiyoshi Kimura, who runs a successful sushi restaurant chain, paid 193 million yen (US$1.8mil) to purchase a 276kg (608-pound) bluefin tuna, caught off the Aomori region in northern Japan.
"This is the best," Kimura told reporters after the pre-dawn auction.
"Yes, this is expensive, isn't it? I want our customers to eat very tasty ones this year too," he said.
In last year's new year auction, Kimura paid a record US$3.1 million to win a 278kg (612-pound) tuna.
The traditional auction is now being held in a new market in an area called Toyosu.
The world-famous Tsukiji market, which had long served as a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops, closed in 2018. - AFP
