2022 Volume 29 Issue 3 Pages 95-108
This paper examines the ideal seafood wholesale market system assumed for future natural disasters from the viewpoint of publicness by analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the seafood wholesale market and the response of market participants. As a result of the case analysis targeting the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market-Toyosu Market, the following points were revealed: a）The market has been severely affected by the pandemic; b）Through appropriate responses by all market participants, the market was able to fulfill its social responsibilities by continuing the market operations and providing a new public service of ensuring food security; c）Nevertheless, market participants are in a situation where they do not have the support to justify the cost of risk-sharing. In order for the wholesale market system in an emergency to function as a “social infrastructure” with robustness, it is necessary to recognize the new public service of ensuring food security and to consider policies to guarantee its publicness.
