Tokyo Govt Seeks Approval for Launch of Toyosu Market

August 1, 2018

Tokyo-The Tokyo metropolitan government on Wednesday filed for the Japanese fisheries minister's approval for the relocation of the aging Tsukiji wholesale food market to a new Toyosu site and the opening of the new market.

The approval procedures are expected to take about a month. The Tokyo government hopes to open the Toyosu market on Oct. 11.

In August 2016, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced the metropolitan government's decision to postpone the relocation of the iconic Tsukiji market in Chuo Ward to Toyosu, which had been slated for November the same year, due to soil contamination at the new market site in neighboring Koto Ward.

Following the implementation of additional soil contamination control measures, a panel of experts confirmed the safety of the Toyosu site. On Tuesday, Koike declared that the Toyosu market site is now safe.

After Koike's announcement, a sense of relief spread among workers at the Tsukiji market. "It's good news," one of the workers said, adding, "We'll be able to relocate to Toyosu without anxiety."

Another said: "I believe that the safety declaration will help eliminate worries among business partners and consumers. We should work hard and cooperate to make the Toyosu market as formidable as the Tsukiji market."

Business operators at Tsukiji are now set to accelerate preparations for the market relocation to Toyosu. Jiji Press