The relocation of the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market, better known as the Tsukiji fish market, is causing concern among restaurants and other retailers operating there because they must cover their own moving costs.
The 230,000-sq.-meter fish market compound in Chuo Ward is the largest in the world, handling 1 million tons of marine products, fruit and vegetables a year, worth more than 600 billion yen. About 15,000 people work there every day.
But the compound has become too cramped and the facilities in the 70-year-old market have become old, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the owner of the market. The new location is in a larger area on reclaimed land at Toyosu wharf in Koto Ward, about 2 km southeast of Tsukiji.