The president of the firm behind restaurant chain Sushi-Zanmai, Mr Kiyoshi Kimura, paid a whopping 14 million yen (S$167,000) yesterday for a giant bluefin tuna as Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market held its last New Year auction ahead of its move.

The 200kg fish, an endangered species, was caught off Japan's northern coast.

The price was three times higher than last year's but still far below a record 155.4 million yen paid in 2013, when a Hong Kong restaurant chain weighed in, for a slightly bigger fish of similar quality.

Tsukiji, a complex of tiny stalls and wholesalers popular with tourists, will end its eight-decade history this year when it is relocated to a modern facility in Toyosu, a few kilometres away.