{
  "id": 19800242,
  "title": "Premium apples in north Japan fetch 100,000 yen in season's 1st auction",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/premium-apples-in-north-japan-fetch-100-000-yen-in-seasons-1st-auction",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-13T11:30:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261113/p2g/00m/0li/054000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "HAKODATE, Hokkaido (Kyodo) -- A box of seven highly prized apples from northern Japan s main island, Hokkaido, sold for a record 100,000 yen ($630) at the first auction of the season on Friday. The bidding price matched the cost of the priciest batch from last year. Buyers convened at a local wholesale market in Hakodate to compete for the red-tinged yellow Nanamitsuki apples, a fruit originating from the town of Nanae, believed to be Japan's inaugural location to cultivate western-style apples. According to the Shinhakodate Agricultural Cooperative, this year's apples are larger and less damaged than in the previous year, when many were ruined by typhoons. Yuji Sotozaki, a 46-year-old fruit and vegetable intermediary wholesaler from Hakodate who placed the highest bid, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, \"They have honey cores and are very good. Please give them a try if you find them in a store.\" Nanamitsuki belongs to the Gunma meigetsu variety, with fruits exceeding a specific level of sweetness and size labeled as premium. Premium fruits frequently achieve exorbitant prices during initial auctions in Japan, with purchasers utilizing successful bids for promotional purposes.",
  "summary": "HAKODATE, Hokkaido (Kyodo) -- A box of seven premium apples grown on Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido fetched the highest bid of 100,000 yen (",
  "key_points": [
    "Seven Nanamitsuki apples sold for 100,000 yen at first seasonal auction",
    "Apples larger and less damaged than previous year due to fewer typhoons",
    "Fruit wholesaler Yuji Sotozaki bids highest, praises honey cores"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Record auction prices for these premium Nanamitsuki apples signal that high-quality harvests can maintain extreme market value even when typhoon damage previously threatened the region's agricultural output.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}