Traders at Tokyo's Toyosu wholesale market held the first auction of 2023 on Thursday to sell raw and frozen tuna from ports around Japan and abroad.

A wholesalers' representative expressed hope that the market could be further developed, despite continued difficulties, such as the rapidly weakening yen and soaring prices of daily necessities.

The attendees clapped hands and prayed for prosperity during the year before bidding opened.

The lively auction started shortly after 5 a.m. Large tuna were auctioned off one after another.

The highest winning bid was for a 212-kilogram bluefin tuna from the port of Oma in the northern prefecture of Aomori, which fetched over 36 million yen, or about 273,000 dollars.