A stink about Tsukiji's move

[Taro Toporific]

Tsukiji fish mart relocation rubs many wrong way
Japan Times, 20 Jun 2003
... shops. But not all of the 900-odd middlemen, restaurateurs and other retailers in the market are happy with the relocation ...

[ramchop]

But the compound has become too cramped ...

Under the plan, the construction and relocation of the market will be completed by fiscal 2012 at the earliest.

...by which time fish stocks will have dried up and they won't need the bigger market.

[Captain Japan]

But the compound has become too cramped ...

Under the plan, the construction and relocation of the market will be completed by fiscal 2012 at the earliest.

Ah jeesh...I went down there a few months ago and wrote up a little piece http://www.bigempire.com/sake/tsukiji_wholesaler.html and I couldn't find anyone who cared about the move. At least not when compared to the greater problem of a lot of business avoiding the market altogether.

And it won't happen for 10 years! That guy in the JT article is worried about the burden of having to buy a damn refrigerator and counter 10 years from now?????

Captain

[Andocrates]

People hate change, someone will get left behind. Some shops will close, but people thought Wal-Mart would end the world and they survived.

(I'm bottle farming)

[Taro Toporific]

... but people thought Wal-Mart would end the world and they survived.

Actually, the red ink of Wal-Mart's slow and botched entry into Japan could be the "end the world" for the juggernaut of Benton Ark.

(I'm bottle farming)

Whatz 'bottle farming'?

[Mulboyne]

Always nice to have a chance to revive one of Taro's old threads...

Asahi: Benzene found at site for fish mart

"Shocking" levels of toxic benzene and cyanide compounds have been found at the proposed relocation site for Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, a Tokyo metropolitan government survey showed. Concentrations of benzene up to 1,000 times higher and cyanic compounds up to 80 times higher than government standards were found at the site in Koto Ward. Metropolitan government officials reported the findings Saturday to experts who met to discuss the contamination. In December 2001, the Tokyo metropolitan government decided to move the Central Wholesale Fish Market from the Tsukiji district in Chuo Ward by fiscal 2012 due to lack of space. About half the new site, in the Toyosu district, was formerly occupied by a Tokyo Gas Co. factory.

Soon after, reports emerged of soil pollution at the site. The Tokyo metropolitan government then tested underground water samples taken from 9 meters deep at 56 spots around the site. High concentrations of benzene were found at 14 spots and cyanic compounds at 18. The maximum concentrations were 1,000 times and 80 times higher than safety standards, respectively. Soil contamination experts called the 1,000-times concentration of benzene "shocking." They urged the metropolitan government to drill deeper at 4,000 spots in a 40-hectare area of the site to check for contamination. "If the metropolitan government plans to move the fish market, it must discover the full extent of soil contamination," chairman Tatemasa Hirata, environmental hydraulics professor at Wakayama University, said.

[2triky]

Always nice to have a chance to revive one of Taro's old threads...

Asahi: Benzene found at site for fish mart

Given the incredible amounts of fish that the Japanese population consume as a staple of their diet, I hope they think really hard and consider this toxological information sincerely.

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]The Asahi reports (Japanese) that the Tsukiji move is back on with a target date of 2014. Decontamination of the site will begin in 2010.

EDIT: Here's the English

...The metropolitan government now says it is certain it can remove all toxic substances from the soil and underground water by fiscal 2014 with an "an easy, fast and trustworthy removal method" that will cut costs from the initially estimated 100 billion yen to 58.6 billion yen...

[Behan]

Is it really possible to remove toxics from soil and water? They sound awfully sure of themselves.

[omae mona]

Is it really possible to remove toxics from soil and water? They sound awfully sure of themselves.

I just kind of assumed they would do this "Tokyo style" and simply remove the soil and water. Who needs it when we have all this nice concrete?

[Iraira]

...The metropolitan government now says it is certain it can remove all toxic substances from the soil and underground water by fiscal 2014 with an "an easy, fast and trustworthy removal method" that will cut costs from the initially estimated 100 billion yen to 58.6 billion yen...

What they're gonna have the little old Aunt Ediths who clean bathrooms, whilst I'm trying to pee, mop up the toxic sludge...more than likely whilst I am trying to pee.

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Tsukiji move key Tokyo poll issue / Proposal to relocate fish market attracting voter attention

The planned relocation of Tsukiji fish market has emerged as a key point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties in campaigning for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on Sunday. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which supports the relocation plan, has criticized the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, saying the DPJ's opposition to the relocation "is irresponsible as it hasn't put forward a counterproposal." The market relocation issue--prompted by product safety concerns--is attracting voter attention. After the metropolitan government decided to relocate the market to the Toyosu district of Koto Ward, the 374,000-square-meter proposed relocation site was found to contain unsafe levels of toxic materials--including benzene at a level 43,000 times higher than environmental safety standards allow. Insisting that no other sites of a suitable size are available, the Tokyo government decided to clean up the site by replacing the soil to a depth of two meters and removing hazardous substances from earth even further down. The new market is slated to open at the end of 2014.

On Tuesday, which marked the mid-point of the official campaigning period, the LDP began distributing leaflets throughout Tokyo, saying the current "market's facilities are old, and business operations there are set to reach a critical limit." A senior member of the LDP's Tokyo chapter said the leaflet reflected the party's determination "not to shirk the important issues the Tokyo government is facing" by rejecting the DPJ's position on the relocation plan. The DPJ has expressed its opposition to the relocation in its manifesto for the Tokyo election, insisting that "the safety of the planned site has yet to be ensured." DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama chose to make his first election campaign speech of the official campaign period at Tsukiji market last Friday, telling the crowd, "Why should we relocate the market?"

With regard to other major parties in the Tokyo assembly, LDP coalition partner New Komeito has expressed support for the relocation plan. The opponents include the Japanese Communist Party and Tokyo Seikatsusha Network (NET), a small political party, which insists the market facilities should be rebuilt instead of relocating them. However, two LDP candidates running in the Koto Ward constituency have expressed concern over the relocation plan, saying they could not back the relocation plan "until the site has been confirmed safe." Tsukiji market workers are closely following the political parties' arguments. Hiroyuki Ito, 70, chairman of the board of directors of the Wholesale Cooperative of Tokyo Fish Market based in the Tsukiji district, said, "We have to accept the relocation plan as a previous plan to rebuild [at the current site] was aborted." Ito urged the Tokyo government to ensure thorough measures are taken to clean up the relocation site. Chizuru Imai, 57, an executive of a wholesale firm, expressed concern about the pollution at the proposed relocation site, saying: "What if fish [stored at the new market] are contaminated? Food safety must come first."

In Toyosu, where the relocation site is located, there are many high-rise apartment buildings that have a large number of new residents. Locals have expressed mixed feelings about the relocation of the fish market. While a 22-year-old university student said he welcomed the relocation, a 45-year-old woman whose son is a second-grade primary school student, said she was concerned about it. "I'm afraid traffic will increase when big trucks drive to and from the new market, leading to more traffic accidents." According to a recent poll of Tokyo assembly election candidates carried out by The Yomiuri Shimbun before the election date was officially announced, 113 of the 204 respondents surveyed opposed the relocation plan, including DPJ, JCP and NET candidates. No candidates from the LDP and New Komeito opposed it. Eighty-three candidates supported the plan, including two from the DPJ.

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: DPJ minister reignites feud over Tsukiji market

As new Cabinet members were making headlines with bold national policies, such as scrapping huge public works projects and a new health-insurance program, the fisheries minister was busy infuriating the Tokyo governor. Hirotaka Akamatsu, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, referred to the planned relocation of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo in his inaugural speech Sept. 17, then visited the proposed new site for an on-the-spot inspection on Sept. 24. "I will never approve the relocation unless I confirm the safety (of the new site)," he said at a news conference the following day. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara immediately expressed his displeasure with Akamatsu's stance. "It has already been decided that the fish market will be relocated to the new site in Toyosu. The conclusion has been reached that it is impossible to maintain the current Tsukiji market while repairing it," the governor told reporters. The latest round in the battle over the fish market has started.

Under the wholesale market law, relocating a central wholesale market must be approved by the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The ministers of previous governments led by the Liberal Democratic Party did not expresses any clear views on the relocation of the Tsukiji fish market. But Akamatsu, a member of the Democratic Party of Japan now in charge of government, wasted no time in saying the issue was far from over. Although a senior fisheries ministry official said Akamatsu may have simply wanted to make his presence felt, the tide has indeed turned against the relocation plan. After the DPJ in July became the largest party in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly, party assembly members expressed opposition to "coercive relocation." They set up a special committee in September to review the Tsukiji market plan. And there is still the problem of deadly toxins that have contaminated the planned new site of the fish market.

The Tokyo metropolitan government in 2001 decided to transfer the 23-hectare fish market in Tsukiji, Chuo Ward, to a 40-hectare site in Toyosu, Koto Ward. The government said the Tsukiji fish market, the largest in Japan, is now too old and crowded. The cost of the relocation is estimated at 431.6 billion yen. However, the new site once housed a factory of Tokyo Gas Co. In 2001, pollutants were detected in the soil, and opposition to the relocation plan intensified. The relocation issue became a key point in the 2007 Tokyo gubernatorial election. Although Ishihara's victory somewhat silenced the critics, studies the following year found toxic benzene and cyanogen compounds in the soil at levels 43,000 and 860 times, respectively, the environmental standards. In February this year, the metropolitan government said it would spend an extra 58.6 billion yen to replace the top 2 meters of soil at the Toyosu site. It plans to earmark that and other costs in next fiscal year's budget.

But concerns remain over the risks of having a fish market at site that has been so heavily polluted. "Safety cannot be guaranteed with the Tokyo metropolitan government's data," said geologist Yukio Sakamaki, 77, an opponent of the relocation plan. After the DPJ became the largest party in the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election, Ishihara softened his stance, but he continued to proceed with the transfer plan. In an assembly session in September, the special review committee was set up with support from a majority of assembly members, mostly from the DPJ. "Many citizens in Tokyo are hoping for a renovation of the current facilities. We should examine the idea again," the DPJ said. The special committee will determine if the soil replacement measure can actually bring about safety at the Toyosu site.

The new market is scheduled to open in December 2014, but the new deliberations and studies could delay the reopening, if approved, past the current schedule. Such a delay would hurt the legacy of Ishihara, who recently suffered a bitter defeat when Tokyo lost on its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. However, Ishihara is not alone in seeking a relocation of the fish market. Hiroyuki Ito, 71, chief director of the Wholesales Cooperative of the Tokyo Fish Market, insisted that renovating the Tsukiji market would cost too much in terms of time and money. "The relocation plan was decided after 20 years of discussions. If the new government changes it, we will face problems. We don't want politicians to use the issue as material in their political battles," he said. On the other hand, Makoto Nozue, 72, a director of the nonprofit Association for a Study of the Tsukiji Market, said the views of what people really want will finally be heard. "With the change of government, a person who listens to the opinions of people opposed to the relocation has become the (fisheries) minister," he said. "It is a step or two forward from the stance of accepting the transfer as a matter of course."

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Tokyo bought section of fish market relocation site despite pollution warning

The Tokyo metropolitan government bought part of its proposed relocation site for the Tsukiji fish market despite being warned that toxic substances had been found at multiple locations, The Asahi Shimbun has found. According to documents obtained by The Asahi Shimbun, the metropolitan government in October 2002 received the results of an environmental survey by Tokyo Gas Co., owner of the relocation site in Koto Ward. The report noted that traces of poisonous benzene had been detected in 88 locations on the site. The metropolitan bought part of the land between 2004 and 2006 without conducting thorough inspections to determine the extent of the contamination.

When the metropolitan government conducted its own surveys starting in 2007, it found unacceptable levels of toxic contamination at locations mentioned in the Tokyo Gas report. A metropolitan official insisted that the government became aware of the extent of the contamination only after it bought the land. "We took all possible measures at the time in consultation with Tokyo Gas," the official said. "There was no way we could have foreseen the new cases of contamination. We did not purchase the land knowing such contamination existed." Most of the pollutants are believed to have come from a plant on the site that produced household utility gas from coal between 1956 and 1976. The plant was closed in 1988.

The discovery of benzene and other toxins in the landfill soil at the Koto Ward site has become the biggest obstacle for relocating the Central Wholesale Fish Market in Tsukiji, Chuo Ward. The metropolitan government decided to move the facility in 2001, saying that the current fish market, the largest in Japan, is too old and small to serve today's needs. The metropolitan government plans to open the new market at the Koto Ward landfill site in December 2014.

Cost is becoming another factor. Tokyo spent roughly 72 billion yen to buy more than 13 hectares of the 37-hectare site. The government has also earmarked 126 billion yen in its fiscal 2010 budget to buy the remaining 23 hectares. But it faces an estimated 58.6 billion yen in additional expenses for decontamination measures. The rising costs may have been the result of lax checks by metropolitan officials.

Although the metropolitan government was responsible for supervising Tokyo Gas and checking that proper measures for the environmental survey were done, thorough boring inspections were conducted at only nine locations where toxin concentration levels were high. The remaining 79 locations were left unchecked. After the land was purchased, soil and underground water inspections conducted between 2007 and 2009 found contamination levels exceeding environmental standards at 1,475 locations. At some points, the concentration of benzene reached a maximum 43,000 times the acceptable level, while cyanic compounds registered 930 times the acceptable level.

Six of the 79 locations that were not thoroughly checked were around areas where the metropolitan government confirmed benzene concentration levels that were a maximum 1,500 times the acceptable level.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

These toxins will go well with all the mercury in the fish, dolphins and whales, er, sorry, scientifically researched cetaceans being sold at the market.

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]
[SIZE="3"]Land Sharks Prey on Tsukiji Fish Merchants[/SIZE]
Shingetsu blog | 2011aug03
...[Tokyo] governor declared, Todays Tsukijiis too old, too narrow, and too dirty.
On the other hand, there are many merchants who work in the Tsukiji market who have been fiercely opposing the metropolitan governments relocation plan.
One objection is that the new site in Toyosu is heavily polluted.
Forty-six Tsukiji wholesale merchants and one corporation filed for an injunction against Governor Ishihara, and the first hearing was held atthe Tokyo DistrictCourton April 27.
The Toyosu site is polluted by, among other things, lead, arsenic, benzene, and mercury. The area used to be inhabited by a factory run by the Tokyo Gas Company.
About 2.1 billion yen (US$27 million) is expected to be added to the annual budget of Tokyo thisyear for the purpose ofdecontaminating the soil at the site.
Moreover,Toyosu is one of those areas in Tokyo that suffered from heavy liquefaction inthe March 11 earthquake. (The Tsukiji area, on the other hand, suffered no similar problems.) ...more...

[Samurai_Jerk]

For Tokyo's Famed Fish Market, A Dreaded Death And A Hopeful Rebirth

If you've ever dreamed about melt-in-your-mouth, out-of-this-world sushi, then you might have heard of Tsukiji, one of the largest fish markets in the world. Most of Tokyo, and even high-end sushi joints in Hong Kong and San Francisco, gets its fish at this cultural landmark near the center of Japan's capital city.

Tsukiji sits on some of the most valuable real estate in Tokyo. But this year, the market will be moved permanently to reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay. The 2020 Olympics are coming, and the city is preparing. Part of Tsujiki is slated to become a road for the games. The rest is undecided.

Tokyo officials direct people to the city's website for explanations: Tsukiji is showing its age; the market wasn't built for trucks; temperatures can't be controlled; there are sanitation issues.

"From the perspective of tourism, Tsukiji's great. You don't find places as amazing as this. But as a market facility, we've completely reached our limits," says Osamu Shimazu, spokesman for the Tokyo Fish Market Wholesale Cooperative Association, which is not a city agency.

[...]

There are problems with the new site in Toyusu, which is across Tokyo Bay, out of central Tokyo. It is not near any train or subway lines. The area once contained a gas plant. The city has already spent nearly a million dollars cleaning up chemical contamination, but there are lingering concerns. City officials say the site is clean, but haven't released official data. The new location is also more vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Fish sellers also face a financial challenge: They have to cover the costs of constructing new stores. The new market in Toyosu may be bigger, brighter and temperature controlled, but rent is more expensive. And the city is not offering much assistance. About 100 of the current 600 or so fish sellers have decided to shut shop rather than move.

[yanpa]

There are problems with the new site in Toyusu, which is across Tokyo Bay, out of central Tokyo. It is not near any train or subway lines.

Slap-bang opposite a Yurikamome station though. It's also walkable from Toyosu metro station, and you can check out Toyosu Lalaport on the way there or back. And the Tokyo Gas Information Centre. You only live once, right?

[matsuki]

City officials say the site is clean, but haven't released official data.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I wonder if the area of restaurants and shops outside the market is going to survive for long after the move. I doubt it which is a shame because there are some cool little places there.

[yanpa]

There was something on TV about that a while back, some initiative (probably involving a mascot kyarakuta) is being made so most places can ganbaru and keep going.

The new location is also more vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.

I wonder which orifice the writers pulled that factoid out of. Both locations down by the bay, the new one isn't any more exposed than the old to whatever tsunami might make it so far up the the bay, and both are on reclaimed ground.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Come on now. We all know it wouldn't be a proper Japan story without mentioning earthquakes and tsunami. I'm just surprised they didn't also throw in radiation from Fukushima for good measure.

[matsuki]

There was something on TV about that a while back, some initiative (probably involving a mascot kyarakuta) is being made so most places can ganbaru and keep going.

Tsukiji for a new mascot kyara...they'll be fine!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Barely two months to spare and now this.

New Tokyo leader postpones plan to move famous fish market

The newly elected governor of Tokyo has postponed a plan to relocate the world’s biggest fish market, one of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Gov. Yuriko Koike announced Wednesday that she will decide on a date only after an environmental assessment of the new site is completed in January. The move had been scheduled for early November.

[Russell]

Barely two months to spare and now this.

New Tokyo leader postpones plan to move famous fish market

The newly elected governor of Tokyo has postponed a plan to relocate the world’s biggest fish market, one of the city’s most famous landmarks.

Gov. Yuriko Koike announced Wednesday that she will decide on a date only after an environmental assessment of the new site is completed in January. The move had been scheduled for early November.

Wouldn't it make sense to have completed an environmental assessment before starting to build?

[Yokohammer]

I'm seriously leery of Koike, but in this case she has a point. The whole new market thing is fishy. It may be necessary, but there's a lot of BS going on behind the scenes. Apparently the per-tsubo cost of the facility works out to between 2 and 2.5 million yen, whereas the average per-tsubo cost of similar facilities is between 500K and 600K yen. So it looks like some money is getting diverted into the pockets of profiteering somebodies somewhere. To those somebodies environmental testing is just a nuisance and a potential profit stopper. It'll be interesting to see what floats to the surface now that she's started stirring the cesspool up a bit.

[Russell]

I'm seriously leery of Koike, but in this case she has a point. The whole new market thing is fishy. It may be necessary, but there's a lot of BS going on behind the scenes. Apparently the per-tsubo cost of the facility works out to between 2 and 2.5 million yen, whereas the average per-tsubo cost of similar facilities is between 500K and 600K yen. So it looks like some money is getting diverted into the pockets of profiteering somebodies somewhere. To those somebodies environmental testing is just a nuisance and a potential profit stopper. It'll be interesting to see what floats to the surface now that she's started stirring the cesspool up a bit.

If that is true, I can't wait until she starts questioning the costs of the Olympics...

[Yokohammer]

That was also one of her campaign promises,


~ Tapatalking ~

[Mike Oxlong]

Next thing you know she'll come out against utility poles.

[Russell]

Next thing you know she'll come out against utility poles.