As described in the previous entry of this blog, the 1st trial hearing in the suit for suspending disposal of the core samples against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) clarified that the TMG had already disposed of samples from four points at Toyosu.

Under the information disclosure law, a Tokyoite requested document indicating why and when the TMG disposed of the specific samples. But the person received a notification regarding "nondisclosure" of the paper concerned from them.

A regulation allows the TMG not to open any information if it may usurp their financial interests or status as parties, regarding affairs of the suit in which they are involved.

The "nondisclosure", however, proves at least that the TMG is virtually sure to have some document indicating why and when they disposed of the four core samples.

At any rate, it is most strange that the TMG always makes efforts to hide the physical evidence away from citizens, while they want to insist on the safety of Toyosu where they are planning to relocate the Tsukiji market.

Despite that the TMG cannot sustain their own credibility - for example, early this year they revealed it learned in June, 2008 that the concentration of a toxic substance at Toyosu was 115 times higher than in a previous inspection but withheld the information for five months from a panel of soil pollution experts (The Japan Times: Data on fish market toxin withheld).

Assuring the security of foods only by words - why is such a thelogical policy possible? Again, because no journalism works fully or consistently in this country. Especially since neoliberism became prevailing here, massmedia have been being controlled by sponsors or major ad agencies.

Particularly signficant is the role of Dentsu, the world-largest ad agency, of which headquarters is incidently situated in vicinity of Tsukiji. Their influnce and connection might be exemplified by the fact that they shared 85 percent of bidding services of Tokyo for the 2016 Olympics, as clarified in the metropolitan assembly.

Also, this value would make the following quotation more tasteful:

But the media have always supported the Olympics for the simple reason that the Olympics have always supported the media. The Games invariably pull in huge TV audience shares in Japan - the biggest in the world, in fact. The Japanese media may have been the only entity that wanted the Tokyo Olympics more than Ishihara did, so blaming the press doesn't make sense.

Unless, of course, you've got something to hide, like all the money that was used to get the support rate up even while you knew you'd already lost for reasons beyond your control. The Tokyo bid committee spent ¥15 billion, ¥10 billion of which was tax money. And the other ¥5 billion, pledged by corporate donors, hasn't even been fully collected yet. Communist Party politicians are also saying there's tens of billions of yen in "hidden expenditures" that various sections of the metropolitan government spent on the Olympics bid, such as ¥10 million to develop a "Tokyo Exercise" regimen.
(The Japan Times: Ishihara was ignorant of fact Olympics bid never had a hope - and we must pay price)

Of course, it is not a matter only of the Olympics. Someone might say that the Tsukiji problems are over, since the national regime has changed. But, just as the Press Club System still continues, the threat to Tsukiji is not yet extinguished.