A week has passed since the opening of Toyosu market in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on Oct. 11. Traffic congestion in the areas surrounding the seafood market, which has been a concern, is now easing. But the way things stand, market operators are having difficulty making good use of the new market's featured temperature and sanitation control systems, among other equipment.
"We will carefully take steps to secure food safety for the consumers," a Tokyo metropolitan government official said.
On the first day, trucks bringing in merchandise and vehicles departing from the market for distribution jammed up the streets nearby. However, as the metropolitan government took measures such as setting up direction boards and adjusting traffic lights to optimize the switching of the signals, the congestion already started to ease off on the second day.
A retailer in Tachikawa, Tokyo, said the arrival of raw fish was delayed by an hour on the first day due to the traffic jam. However, with the easing of traffic, "The confusion at the market seems to be settling down and the new market is beginning to function as in the Tsukiji days," he said.
The new market facility has an enclosed structure that does not let in fresh air. At the berth where trucks pick up and drop off loads, drivers can back the rear ends of trucks for frozen or refrigerated goods right into the building, enabling a low-temperature supply chain called a "cold chain."
According to the metropolitan government and others, however, some truckers were seen not using the berth but unloading goods outside the building instead. "We can finish unloading faster that way," one fisheries wholesaler said.
"The loads are being treated as they were at Tsukiji," a metropolitan government official in charge said. "To make good use of the new market's functions, we need to cooperate with the industry to keep matters fully under control."
Some problems pertaining to sanitation are also occurring.
At Tsukiji market, the floor was cleaned by washing away waste with seawater. According to a senior official of the metropolitan government, "The bony parts of fish were also swept away and became rat food."
Toyosu has adopted a system in which the floor is rinsed off with the minimum amount of water needed after waste has been removed. But some operators have not been following the rules, thereby causing problems such as making the drains clog up. Smoking in places other than the designated smoking areas and cigarette butts being littered about are also conspicuous problems.
"We intend to create a hygienic environment at the market by explaining to the operators that they need to follow the rules," a metropolitan government official said.
Opponents enter Tsukiji
On Thursday morning, several operators opposing the relocation of the market to Toyosu and their supporters forcibly entered the old Tsukiji market in Chuo Ward, Tokyo. The old market was shut down Wednesday night and guarded by metropolitan government officials and security personnel. Entry is now prohibited except for those involved in demolition works.
Operators opposing the relocation and their supporters claim they have the right to continue their business at the old market, among other things, and entered the premises through the entrance gate used by demolition workers and in other places.
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