Tokyo's sprawling Toyosu fish market, the world's largest, is taking an outsized hit from the coronavirus pandemic, forcing restaurants and wholesalers to adapt in order to survive.
Businesses had hoped for more activity after Japan lifted its state of emergency in late May, but big events such as shareholder meetings and wedding banquets have remained on hold while many Japanese are still wary of going to restaurants.
Demand for fresh fish, especially the "king of sushi," bluefin tuna, has slumped as the pandemic wiped out orders for events. Tuna prices dropped 8.4 percent in July from a year earlier, far steeper than the 1.5 percent annual fall in overall fresh fish prices, government data showed.