The Oi Container Terminal in Shinagawa Ward
119 containers left daily
Located near Tokyo Port, the Oi Container Terminal in Shinagawa Ward is the largest container berth in Tokyo. A number of containers and container truck trailers have been left on a nearby road, partially blocking three of its four lanes on each side of the road.
According to the metropolitan government, operators often leave containers at the site after removing the goods inside them, detaching them from trucks to take on further containers. Others use the location to store containers temporarily before passing them on to other operators.
Such practices have been common since about 2010. With growing imports and exports to China and other Asian nations, the volume of container cargo handled at Tokyo Port has been increasing. Calculating each container as 20 feet (six meters) long, the number reached a record 4.35 million containers in 2013.
As a result, the number of abandoned containers has also been increasing. According to surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012 by the metropolitan government, an average of 119 containers and trailers were left daily at Oi Container Terminal and other sites.
The roads near Tokyo Port are harbor roads, equipped for the distribution of goods, and therefore many sections of the roads are exempt from the Road Traffic Law. Legal prohibitions against stationary vehicles on an ordinary road cannot be enforced on most of the roads in the area.
