Former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said Friday he is not the only one to blame for the problems dogging the relocation plan for the famed Tsukiji fish market.
At a closely watched news conference at the Japan National Press Club, the outspoken nationalist pointed a finger at the metropolitan bureaucracy, claiming he only contributed to the fiasco by rubber-stamping the land transactions and casting blame for the problems on his trusted deputies.
Ishihara, 84, also kicked off a blame game with Gov. Yuriko Koike, saying her stalling on the project caused financial losses for wholesalers at Tsukiji who are now unable to use the new facilities built on the polluted replacement site, which is in the Toyosu district bordering Tokyo Bay in Koto Ward.