September 6, 2017

The extraordinary session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on September 5 at its plenary meeting passed the governor-proposed supplementary budget drafted to relocate the famous fish market from Tsukiji to the polluted former gas plant site in Toyosu.

The governor’s “Tomin First no Kai” party, the Komei Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party voted for the draft budget while the Japanese Communist Party voted against the draft.

Prior to the vote, JCP assemblyperson Toya Etsuko used her question time to oppose the supplementary budget.

Toya criticized Governor Koike Yuriko for breaching the promise she made to Tokyoites and Tsukiji market workers to clean up the chemical pollution-tainted Toyosu site as a precondition for the relocation.

The JCP assemblyperson refuted the governor’s claim that food safety at the new market site will be ensured by implementing expert panel-recommended additional countermeasures to deal with the soil contamination. She pointed out the fact that the Tokyo government has so far spent 86 billion yen for soil decontamination as recommended by the expert panel but failed to reduce the contamination level as planned. Toya said that it is impossible for Tokyo citizens to trust the governor’s declaration about food safety.

Toya also said that assembly discussions made it clear that the governor’s relocation policy obtained no consent from Tsukiji traders. She added, “It is unacceptable for the governor to push forward with the relocation without traders’ approval. The relocation should be cancelled.”

Past related articles:
> Citizens protest against Tokyo governor’s decision to relocate Tsukiji market to polluted site next year [August 29, 2017]
> ‘Tomin 1st no Kai’ & Komei resist call for summoning of experts on Tokyo’s fish market relocation [August 25, 2017]