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Tokyo's old fish market makes way for skyscrapers, glitzy stadium to woo global spenders

34 Comments
By YURI KAGEYAMA

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Jiro Ueda, an executive overseeing development planning at major real estate company Mitsui Fudosan, which heads the consortium that won the bid to redevelop the area. “We want to build facilities for sports and entertainment to move people emotionally. We want to make Japan more economically competitive.”

A symbol of working men and women, who braved the sea, traded in a real free market and earned livelihoods that sustained generations is being turned into another redeveloped site to attract 'global spenders'.

Rentier money, offshore investments which return little to the local economy and even pay little taxes on their transnational capital investments.

Progress for Japan?

-1 ( +17 / -18 )

Fish market? Need to make sure there's nothing fishy.

-19 ( +4 / -23 )

This development was planned from the beginning; it did not happen by accident. Look for those whom ultimately profited from the redevelopment...

18 ( +21 / -3 )

Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun Group, whose baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants, may use the new arena as its home stadium.

And give up playing in Tokyo Dome? Wow this new "stadium" better be a dome or I will bet the Giants will never move!

This coming on the heels of reports that Japanese pro-baseball is loosing fans, loosing kids who want to play (no wonder considering the way they play and practice here) and loosing money.

Japanese pro ball is literally becoming a 4A clearing house for the best players to go and play in the best league in the world. MLB.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

It's high time!

-12 ( +1 / -13 )

Tokyo renewing itself again, one of the best cities to live in the world..

GO TOKYO !!..

-26 ( +2 / -28 )

Every NPB game I watch on TV is sold out so someone is making money. Japan has won the WBC a record three times and that has only increased the popularity of the game here.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

the new development will rival top waterfront spots in places like Sydney and Singapore

It won't rival Singapore's landmark waterfront district. That area is filled with century-old carefully restored buildings, from the Boat Quay district of former warehouses to the grand colonial structures across the river with museums, art galleries and a concert hall, beyond which is a large expanse of greenery.

Destroying old buildings and replacing them with new ones with occasional turf-life grass with stunted trees is the modern Japanese approach. This project does not seem to be any different.

6 ( +18 / -12 )

Good idea, Tokyo does not have a waterfront with cafes and restaurants. Unless Daiba, maybe. But no need for adding skyscrapers and luxury shops. There is plenty enough. And it blocks the wind to glow in the city

15 ( +20 / -5 )

Japan's future.... A playground for rich Asian tourists. Well, it could be worse.

-14 ( +10 / -24 )

If your country's government is untrustworthy, afraid they're gonna take away the billions you extracted from society, Japan is for sale!

-5 ( +9 / -14 )

I'm really happy tourists aren't allowed in the new fish market. Also, yeah, nothing wrong with turning a sticky old place into something modern. Instamamas who just lost a place to visit for a stupid instavideo, that's life! I'm happy you're frustrated!

-9 ( +7 / -16 )

I'm with Professor Dimmer. Sadly, there was no way to successfully fight off that line-up of financial megaliths.

I wonder if the adjacent Tsukiji retail market will be even further overrun with mobs escaping that enormous complex.

0 ( +11 / -11 )

"Tsukiji" literally means reclaimed land. The district doesn't have a long history because the areas as far as the palace moat in Hibiya were under Tokyo Bay. So it's difficult to dwell on the area's non-history. (Edo's original fish market was at Nihombashi and didn't move to Tsukiji until the 1930s.

That said, the district is very flat, less than one meter above sea level and almost certainly susceptible to floods caused by storm surges or tsunami. I very much hope that the planners and designers will environmental concerns into account.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Will be interesting to see the new development and what they come up with.

Love a well designed waterfront.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

A computer graphic video of plans for the 900 billion yen project made by property developer Mitsui Fudosan shows air taxis zipping above the Sumida river, famed for its scenic bridges.

.

Been in Japan long enough to know that the ‘not-allowed’ culture is so inherent in Japanese society that ‘air taxis’ won’t be a thing.

1 ( +11 / -10 )

Hurrah! Cookie cutter developments with the ubiquitous, unchallenging retail tenants that landlords love!

1 ( +7 / -6 )

The more green, the better.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Tokyo renewing itself again, one of the best cities to live in the world..

GO TOKYO !!..

New buildings don't work with old outdated minds.

-7 ( +5 / -12 )

The fish market was moved, because some "smart investors" need to make some serious cash out of that area. Most likely it will be another playground just for the very rich Asians, attracted to Tokyo due to Yen collapse and cheap investments that follow it.

-5 ( +11 / -16 )

Every NPB game I watch on TV is sold out so someone is making money. Japan has won the WBC a record three times and that has only increased the popularity of the game here.

You are living in a glass house. Just because you see some stadiums full does not change the fact that baseball is and has been loosing popularity in Japan for over a decade now.

The number of people participating in baseball here has been on the decline since the turn of the century and there are serious discussions being had regarding a reduction of the number of teams as well.

Japanese teams are owned and operated by corporations and they are LOOSING money and can not afford to continue supporting the teams.

Just because Japan won the WBC is not a factor in the long term health of the sport. Teams here CAN NOT afford to pay the top players like MLB can, and so they create stupid rules regarding free agency to hold players hostage here! Even Otani wanted to skip playing Japanese ball, but got pushed into staying due to his popularity here.

Oh and what I said about declining popularity.... (FYI FACTS!)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1331533/japan-number-baseball-players/

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Oh and don't forget Major League Baseball has had to invest in Japanese little league baseball to help support the sagging popularity of the game.

Kids here dont want to throw 100 pitches day in and day out, and practice from dawn until dark.

Baseball will remain popular, and Koshien will remain the No 1 baseball tournament in Japan, but pro ball is declining at a pace that may get to the point that soccer will become more popular in Japan.

Not to mention that soccer is cheaper to play than baseball!

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

I don’t see the fascination with this place, it must smell as bad as the market in Korea

-7 ( +8 / -15 )

In Okinawa, when large tracts of land become available from the US military giant corporations from the mainland have moved in, including large shopping malls. Small companies, local companies and the local Okinawa entrepreneur are always left out. Really, the same thing happens in the mainland. The zaibatsu continues to roll and the big corporations dominate society.....including the old Tsukiji property. No sign of any independent businesses. Just the big, rich guys.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Not to mention that soccer is cheaper to play than baseball!

It will be a multi-use stadium with a retractable roof capable of hosting all kinds of sports and concerts. I am glad they are including vertiports for flying vehicles. I do wish there would be a waterfront hospital accessible by water ambulances, though, which will be useful in the event of a natural disaster.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I like the top photo...like something out of an 80s-90s anime.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

More "skyscrapers, glitzy stadium to woo global spenders" is the last thing this city needs, imho.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

also about this urban redevelopment, injustice collusion between metropolitan politics under Koike and corporations or slush fundraising has criticized. 

Estate corporations including Mitsui "cooperate" political fundraising of present governor Koike, Tokyo places on orders to estate corporations, Besides Tokyo sold metropolitan lands 90% discount to Mitsui estate, and tens retired high officials landing jobs in estate corporations such as Mitsui with high salary.

Such corrupted politics should be known widely especially during present Tokyo governor election campaign until next sunday, But, Japan's major media avoid to report inconvenient facts for present governor Koike on the excuse of political fairness. Because, nationwide newspapers Asahi and Yomiuri including their TV channels are stakeholders who participating in this metropolitan redevelopment.

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

You already lost me at "air taxis zipping above the Sumida river, famed for its scenic bridges". First, as mentioned above, it will be a long time in the future until 'copters of any size would fly above heavy traffic roads. Second, I don't remember any scenic bridges on that smelly brack water only concrete walls!

2 ( +6 / -4 )

n Okinawa, when large tracts of land become available from the US military giant corporations from the mainland have moved in, including large shopping malls. Small companies, local companies and the local Okinawa entrepreneur are always left out.

You really should do yourself a favor and research a little more before making off the wall comments like these.

The overwhelming majority of land returned was privately owned. The owners SOLD their land to developers and corporations, who built the malls, FYI there are only 2, SanEi Main Place and AEON Rycom Mall, so you are also over exaggerating about the "malls"

Local contractors are "left out" as you say, not because of the reason you like to think it is, but due to the fact that Okinawan construction companies dont have the expertise nor technical capabilities to build these large projects as mainland companies do.

There is a whole hell of a lot more to it, but I doubt you are interested in learning, as your "conspiracy" theory would be shot down!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Will it scale up to the changes in the community?

Get it, scale?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Fish markets are, for me, exciting and fun. In Seattle there is one with a restaurant beside with. . .fresh fish. It's a fun trip. Japan has some very old fish markets. They are almost tourist attractions.

But sometimes old things go and new things come. Too bad for this market but it had to happen and, I guess, for the better. I fear for the streets in Japan with all the old shops that might disappear for the same modernization. But things change. Maybe it's all for the better.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Too bad the old logging wharf was lost as well. The log rollers had some mad skills.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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