A bluefin tuna, caught off northern Japan, has fetched a record 56.49 million yen in the first auction of the year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

The price for the 269-kilogram tuna beat last year's record of 32.49 million yen.

The price translates to 210,000 yen (€2,129) per kilo - also a record, said Yutaka Hasegawa, a Tsukiji market official.

The winning bidder is Kiyoshi Kimura, president of a sushi restaurant chain.

Reports quote him saying that he wants to "liven up Japan" and help it recover from last year's devastating tsunami and economic stagnation.

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