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Good news for tourists and those residents (like me) who haven't visited Tsukiji fish market yet:
Photo: Reuters / Japan Times
Smelling something fishy, Koike puts Tsukiji move on ice
Tsukiji fish market relocation facing delay by new Gov. Yuriko Koike
Photo: Reuters / Japan Times
Smelling something fishy, Koike puts Tsukiji move on ice
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike on Wednesday suspended the relocation of Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market, saying she may order a root-and-branch review of the move.
The famously messy but colorful market was due to close a few weeks from now and reopen in spanking new surroundings at a custom-built facility in Toyosu in Koto Ward on Nov. 7.
At a news conference, Koike said three worries forced her into the decision: noxious chemicals in the ground at the new site, ballooning construction costs and a general failure to keep the city's residents in the loop.
Tsukiji fish market relocation facing delay by new Gov. Yuriko Koike
Many fish merchants in Tsukiji, in particular tuna wholesale businesses, have opposed the move on the back of concerns about soil pollution at the Toyosu site and shortcomings in the planned alternative facilities.
Other merchants have called for a postponement because the relocation is to take place right before their busiest and most profitable season.
"Postponement is good. I have seen problems with the relocation in November. November and December is one of the busiest seasons for us," Tai Yamaguchi, a worker at Tsukiji-based fish dealer Hitoku Shoten, told The Japan Times on Tuesday.
"I'm also worried about pollution, and the facilities in Toyosu are so bad. We don't want to move to Toyosu until every problem is addressed."
The pollution problem emerged in 2001 when Tokyo Gas Co., which operated a gas plant at the site from 1956 to 1988, revealed that the soil contained high levels of toxic chemicals such as lead, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, cyanogen and benzene.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has claimed the new site won't pose any health problems either for Tsukiji workers or fish consumers. The metropolitan government has removed surface soil to 2 meters in depth at Toyosu and replaced it with new soil. It also plans to keep monitoring the groundwater for contaminants.