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New Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike says the scheduled relocation of the famous Tsukiji fish market may have to be delayed but says she will make a final decision soon.
The decision to relocate the 80-year-old fish market to a 40-hectare site at Toyosu was made several years ago and construction of the new facilities is almost complete. It is scheduled to open on Nov 7.
However, Koike -- who was elected on a platform of cutting back on wasteful spending -- said: “With respect to whether the relocation should be conducted according to the fixed schedule, I have a responsibility to comprehensively examine all aspects before making the final decision. There are many factors to consider."
As an example, Koike said test results from an inspection of water quality at the new site, once a Tokyo Gas plant, will not be available until after Nov 7, Fuji TV reported. “It is unsettling that the relocation has been scheduled before the test results are released," Koike said. "I also question the authorities who decided on this schedule."
An added complication is that there is a pressing plan to build a highway at the former site in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The new site is about 40% larger with state-of-the-art refrigeration and other modern facilities. Construction costs were around 200 billion yen.
The Tsukiji market is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. In all, about 1.8 billion yen worth of fish, seafood and vegetables -- over 2,900 tons -- change hands each day at the market.
Initially, the relocation plan was marred by revelations of heavy soil contamination at the site. That saddled the Tokyo metropolitan government with more than 50 billion yen in cleanup costs.
The Seafood Wholesalers' Association insists the move is crucial for Tsukiji to handle modern-day demands for freshness. Refrigerated trucks drive around instead of the old rail cars. Key to ensuring perishable goods stay fresh is a so-called cold chain which maintains produce at a consistent temperature until consumers buy it, something the current market is ill-equipped to do, vendors say.
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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Yubaru
Well I don't blame her for doing this, but I can hardly see her stopping it forever as the construction and other plans are already in place and a timetable needs to be kept.
She is flexing her administrative rights (muscle) and sending a message that there is a new sheriff in town.
Aly Rustom
Agree. I would back her 100% if not for her Nippon Kaigi affliation and general right wing tendencies
sangetsu03
So 200 billion yen already spent, and she has second thoughts? In case no one is aware of the fact, time is money, even more valuable than money, and the more time is wasted, the more money is wasted.
Moving delays will decrease the amount of construction time for the new highway, which will drive up it's cost, and force those who have already planned for the move to plan again, which costs more time and money.
But Koike is an experienced politician, and delays, or threats of a delay can lead to the exchange of "favors" in order to expedite things.
Don't count on Koike to do anything about wasteful spending, how much do you want to bet that Tokyo will spend progressively more money every year she is in office?
fxgai
I have high hopes for Koike in getting spending down (she couldn't do worse than Masuzoe), but then I also had high hopes that Abe would implement some structural reforms.
Still, for some reason I feel she is more trustworthy than Abe.
Scrote
If the new facilities are complete it would be a waste of time and money to postpone relocation. I don't know why Koike is even thinking about delaying the move.
Strangerland
The things Masazoe got into trouble for - mainly using government money for personal endeavors, and expensive travel - were wrong, but compared to the budget of Tokyo were not even a drop in the bucket. I have no idea what the actual spending numbers for Tokyo were like - do you?
fxgai
No I didn't have an idea (looks like around 6 trillion yen now that I check), but I can't imagine that Koike could do worse than a guy who essentially embezzled tax payer money to pay all his personal expenses. The attitude is revealing, methinks! He did raise some objections to spending on the Olympics though I guess.
toshiko
Everybody.. Are you Ll writing about huge fish market in Tsukiji, Tokyo? Historical.