The world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market was previously scheduled to cease operations on 02 November 2016 and shift to a new home in Toyosu on 07 November 2016. However, Tsukiji Fish Market’s proposed relocating plan has come to a halt due to concerns over environmental issues and construction costs.
Japan’s newly elected Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s decision to postpone the move was beyond necessary. The 400,000-square-meter wide new venue used to be a gas plant, and reported traces of soil contamination have raised alarm bells.The uncertainty of Tsukiji Fish Market’s future location has led to plenty of repercussions, especially for the fish merchants.
While no official statement has been released on whether the government will consider pulling the plug on the entire move, it is evident that tension is escalating amongst vendors as their seafood businesses are being direly affected.
Furthermore, many business owners have already reportedly spent more than ¥20 billion in combination to prepare for the venue transfer.
According to Japanese media, the postpone of Tsukiji Fish Market costs a whopping ¥7 million yen per day. The construction of a highway intended for the 2020 Olympic Games could, as a result, be delayed.
The expressway will cut through the Tsukiji Fish Market’s current site and officials are left in a limbo on whether they should break ground for a new route.
Despite previous claims that Tsukiji Fish Market’s move was for the better, it seems like conditions at the new site could actually be potentially worse.
For instance, toxins are still detected at the new site despite having spent ¥86 billion on cleanup works. Construction costs have too tripled from its original calculations. Is this a result of corrupt or miscommunication?
The decision to relocate Tsukiji Fish Market was after all finalised by former Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, who resigned from his role after being involved in money scandals. For now, the situation remains tricky at large with many parties’ livelihoods at stake. It is also incredibly difficult to pinpoint at who is essentially responsible for this huge project gone wrong.
Ms Koike did not acknowledge on whether the move will be cancelled altogether but said that they are currently awaiting final groundwater testing results. The assessment results will be revealed in January 2017.
While relocation plans are shifty, this means that Tsukiji Fish Market will still be in operations at its current site at Chuo Ward for at least a few more months.