Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike should issue "a safety declaration" over soil contamination at the Tsukiji fish market's planned new site in Toyosu on Tokyo Bay to ease public concerns and allow the project to proceed, the head of the Tsukiji wholesalers cooperative said Wednesday.

Junichi Ito, whose cooperative comprises 570 intermediate wholesale businesses at the famed market, told a news conference that groundwater surveys have shown the level of soil pollution at the Toyosu site in Koto Ward is now lower than legal levels.

He said the problem is the lack of a "sense of security" and confidence among the public and cooperative members about the safety of the site.