Buyer Splashes Out $1.3 Million for Tokyo New Year Tuna

 The head of a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for 207 million Japanese yen (about 1.3 million US dollars), which was bought jointly by sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki, is carried by a sushi chef at an Onodera sushi restaurant after the first tuna auction of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
The head of a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for 207 million Japanese yen (about 1.3 million US dollars), which was bought jointly by sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki, is carried by a sushi chef at an Onodera sushi restaurant after the first tuna auction of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
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Buyer Splashes Out $1.3 Million for Tokyo New Year Tuna

 The head of a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for 207 million Japanese yen (about 1.3 million US dollars), which was bought jointly by sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki, is carried by a sushi chef at an Onodera sushi restaurant after the first tuna auction of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
The head of a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna that was auctioned for 207 million Japanese yen (about 1.3 million US dollars), which was bought jointly by sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and wholesaler Yamayuki, is carried by a sushi chef at an Onodera sushi restaurant after the first tuna auction of the New Year in Tokyo, Japan January 5, 2025. (Reuters)

The top bidder at a Tokyo fish market said they paid $1.3 million for a tuna on Sunday, the second highest price ever paid at an annual prestigious new year auction.

Michelin-starred sushi restauranteurs the Onodera Group said they paid 207 million yen for the 276-kilogram (608 pound) bluefin tuna, roughly the size and weight of a motorbike.

It is the second highest price paid at the opening auction of the year in Tokyo's main fish market since comparable data started being collected in 1999.

The powerful buyers have now paid the top price for five years straight -- winning bragging rights and a lucrative frenzy of media attention in Japan.

"The first tuna is something meant to bring in good fortune," Onodera official Shinji Nagao told reporters after the auction. "Our wish is that people will eat this and have a wonderful year."

The Onodera Group paid 114 million yen for the top tuna last year.

But the highest ever auction price was 333.6 million yen for a 278-kilogram bluefin in 2019, as the fish market was moved from its traditional Tsukiji area to a modern facility in nearby Toyosu.

The record bid was made by self-proclaimed "Tuna King" Kiyoshi Kimura, who operates the Sushi Zanmai national restaurant chain.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the new year tunas commanded only a fraction of their usual top prices, as the public were discouraged from dining out and restaurants had limited operations.



Most Countries Miss UN Deadline for New Climate Targets

 The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)
The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)
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Most Countries Miss UN Deadline for New Climate Targets

 The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)
The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP)

Many of the world's biggest polluter nations have missed a UN deadline to set new climate targets as efforts to curb global warming come under pressure following US President Donald Trump's election.

The nearly 200 countries signed up to the Paris Agreement faced a Monday deadline to submit new national climate plans to the UN, setting out how they plan to cut emissions by 2035.

As of Monday morning, many of the world's biggest polluters - including China, India and the European Union - had not done so. "The public is entitled to expect a strong reaction from their governments to the fact that global warming has now reached 1.5 degrees Celsius for an entire year, but we have seen virtually nothing of real substance," said Bill Hare, CEO of science and policy institute Climate Analytics.

The 2015 Paris climate accord commits nations to try to avoid global warming exceeding 1.5 C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. Action to date has fallen far short of the deep emissions cuts that would achieve this. Last year was the first to breach 1.5 C of warming.

Large economies that have announced new climate plans include the US, Britain, Brazil, Japan, and Canada - although Trump is expected to scrap the US's Biden-era contribution.

Trump last month ordered the US to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and paused some federal clean energy spending.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell said last week most countries have indicated they will still produce their plans this year.

"Countries are taking this extremely seriously, which isn't surprising given these plans will be key to how much of the 2 trillion boom governments can secure," Stiell said, citing the $2 trillion invested globally in clean energy and infrastructure last year.

"So taking a bit more time to ensure these plans are first-rate makes sense," he added.

But the missed deadline adds to concerns that climate action has fallen down government agendas, with some officials signaling that the US U-turn on climate policy is disrupting other nations' efforts.

EU climate policy chief Wopke Hoekstra told Reuters last month the bloc's policymaking cycle did not line up with the UN deadline, but that Brussels would have its plan ready for the COP30 UN climate summit in November.

India has not yet finished the studies needed to design its climate plan, a government official told Reuters.

China will publish its climate plan "in due course", a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

A spokesperson for Indonesia's Environment Ministry said the ministry was awaiting instructions from the President's office on submitting its climate target.

The governments of Iran, Russia and South Africa did not respond to requests for comment.