Japan Press Weekly

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2016 August 31 - September 6 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Tokyo governor postpones relocation of Tsukiji fish market

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko on August 31 at a news conference in the metropolitan government office building announced the postponement of the relocation of the Tsukiji fish market to the Toyosu district which was scheduled for November.

Explaining her decision, Koike said, “I thought about whether Tokyoites and market workers are really in favor of the planned relocation.”

The governor also raised the following three points regarding the project: public concerns about soil contamination at the Toyosu market site; the swollen construction cost and a lack of transparency in the process of costs being increased; and insufficiency of information disclosure on the relocation plan.

Koike expressed her intent to set up a task force consisting of experts in architecture, soil environment, and other related fields to examine problems associated with the project. She added that the team will look into several issues such as the actual extent of soil pollution, problems pertaining to the establishment of new market facilities, and the necessity of the increased budget for the relocation.

Later in the day, Oyama Tomoko, secretary general of the Japanese Communist Party metropolitan assemblypersons’ group, published a comment on the governor’s announcement.

The comment notes that the governor’s decision is important as it is made in response to requests from Tokyoites, including consumers and people directly concerned with the market. It urges the metropolitan government to examine a number of problems and consider the cancellation of the project, citing the fact that the concentration of benzene, a carcinogenic substance, in the air at the new facility exceeds the maximum permissible amount set by the WHO.

Hata Akio, former president of the Japan Association on the Environmental Studies, said, “The Tokyo government says it will soon reexamine the quality of the groundwater at the new market site. In order to prevent data manipulation, it is necessary to sample and analyze the water with a third party present and verify the results.”

Past related article:
> JCP urges Tokyo governor to review Tsukiji fish market relocation [August 11, 2016]