Tokyo's new Toyosu wholesale food market opens for business on Thursday, taking over from the renowned Tsukiji market, which ceased operations last Saturday and ended its 83-year history. The shutdown of the nation's largest wholesale market, which in recent years was also a popular tourist spot for both Japanese and visitors from abroad, was widely regretted. But Tsukiji's function as a fresh food market, with its aging facilities and narrow space, had been nearing its limits.
The Toyosu market, built on a site 1.7 times larger than Tsukiji and featuring up-to-date equipment, is touted as allowing its operation to be more efficient and the quality control of its food products to be better. However, improved hardware alone will not guarantee that the market's operator and the traders who use the facility will enjoy strong business, which, along with the safety of the food the market handles, will be needed for its operation to be sustainable
The relocation of the Tsukiji market, which opened in 1935, was discussed for decades until the 2001 decision by its operator, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to build a new market at the Toyosu site. Ground pollution at the Toyosu site — where a Tokyo Gas plant formerly stood — was a major source of concern about the relocation and toxic substances well over environment standards were detected.