Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2017 March 15 - 21 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

70% of seafood traders in Tsukiji call for cancellation of relocation to polluted Toyosu district

A voluntary group of marine product traders in the Tsukiji market on March 14 submitted to Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko a petition calling for the cancellation of the planned relocation of the market to a former Tokyo Gas plant site in the Toyosu district.

As of February 1, 71% of 553 intermediate wholesalers for fresh seafood and marine products gave their endorsement to the petition, according to the group.

In the petition, the group pointed to various problems at the Toyosu site, including the inadequate measures taken to replace the toxic and contaminated soil beneath the market facilities and the detection of high-level chemical substances at the site. The group said that the Tokyo government obviously failed to properly decontaminate the former gas plant site.

Regarding buildings and facilities at the relocation site, the group indicated flaws in design such as an insufficient floor loading capacity. It demanded the withdrawal of the relocation plan without delay.

After the submission of the petition, the group held a press conference at the Tsukiji market. At the press conference, the group’s leader Yamaguchi Taiko reported that the number of seafood brokers who endorsed the petition unexpectedly exceeded the majority of brokers. She said that this shows that workers at the Tsukiji market are unwilling to work at the polluted site. She expressed her hope that the petition would gain further support as the group will ask vegetable brokers and various Tsukiji-related businesses for their cooperation.

Past related article:
> Vegetable brokers in Tsukiji oppose market relocation to polluted Toyosu site [March 3, 2017]