Former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara will hold a news conference on March 3 to explain his involvement in the Tsukiji fish market relocation plan, he said Tuesday.
Ishihara was governor when the metropolitan government decided to buy land in the nearby Toyosu area to serve as the new location of the famous but aging fish market. Gov. Yuriko Koike has put the move on hold amid concerns about pollution at the new site — which had been formerly home to a gas production plant — and has publicly called on Ishihara to clarify his role in the purchase.
Ishihara would only say "It's on Friday (next week)," when reporters asked when he will hold a news conference.
On Monday, four major parties in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly agreed to set up a committee to look into questions about the relocation and possibly summon Ishihara as a witness under oath.
Another special assembly panel on the issue has already decided to summon Ishihara and Takeo Hamauzu, who had been deputy governor under Ishihara, for questioning between March 18 and 20 regarding the land purchase from Tokyo Gas Co.