Tokyo, Japan - Frozen tuna fish is lined up at Tsukiji Fish Market - 14/09/06 - After more than 80 years in operation, the world’s biggest fish market, a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops, is expected to move to Toyosu, a former gas plant to the east of the current site, in October 2018. The market, which opened in 1935, is best known for its daily pre-dawn auctions of tuna, for use by everyone from top Michelin-star sushi chefs to ordinary grocery stores. The Tsukiji market handles 480 kinds of seafood daily, worth £10m, as well as 270 types of fruits and vegetables, and has fed Japan’s hunger for fresh seafood since its opening. But in recent years the antiquated facility has prompted its users to voice concerns about its earthquake resistance, sanitation and fire safety, as well as asbestos in its crumbling walls. They have also called for upgraded technology, such as better refrigeration systems. But the move, originally scheduled for late 2016, was also loudly opposed by various businesses that operate at or around the market, an extremely popular attraction located within walking distance from the Ginza shopping district. Many businesses were emotionally attached to the Tsukiji brand as well as the location, which also had problems with soil contamination as it formerly housed a dry cleaning plant before the market was built. Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, put the relocation plan on hold shortly after being elected the city’s first female governor in 2016. She then found a series of problems with the new site in Toyosu, including soil and groundwater contamination, and discovered that contractors had failed to fill in a basement at the new site with clean soil as a buffer against underground pollution. (Photo by Andrea Francolini/Selected Images) SELECTED IMAGES EXCLUSIVE - IMAGE AVAILABLE FOR RM LICENSE! @afrancolini #selectedimagescom #photography #photoagency #pictureoftheday #photos #photographer #photograph #stockphoto #iconic #symbolic #reportage #photoyournalism #tuna #fish #environment #fishstock #japan #tokyo #tsukijifishmarket #nutrition #closing #polution #market
