Know How Restaurants In Japan Are Fighting Back Against 'Sushi Terrorism'

Restaurants serving Japan's most renowned dish are pressing charges against anyone caught messing with meals for social media likes.

(Representational Image)

Source : Getty

In Japan, digital producers chasing a "viral" moment have managed to breach every food and sanitary standards. Conveyor belt restaurants around the country are experiencing a surge in 'sushi terrorism,' in which people video themselves contaminating other people's food with saliva and other ingredients.

The event was originally brought to light in late January, when a video of the youth was posted to social media, showing him touching another customer's plate of sushi as it passed his table in a "kaiten-sushi" restaurant, where plates of food move by on a conveyer belt until they are selected. The video, shot by a friend who is also facing prosecution, also showed the child licking a soy sauce bottle and mugs of green tea ready for other diners to use.

The behaviour was quickly described as "sushi terrorism."

回転寿司もう行けない。
こういう輩は滅びた方がいい。
TikTokやってる奴は基本カス以下。#くら寿司 #はま寿司 #スシロー #迷惑行為 #Tiktok #回転寿司 pic.twitter.com/4lzX6oldll

— ihateevth (@ihateevth) January 29, 2023

In a recent report by Deutsche Welle, after the 48-second video went viral on social media, Akindo Sushiro Co (the Japanese restaurant) issued a statement saying it had washed the restaurant thoroughly and will be implementing new hygiene standards, such as forcing guests to gather condiments and chopsticks from a serving station before sitting down.

In a press release, the company also stated that its shares had dropped 4.8 per cent in 10 days and that it would take legal action.

The boy and his legal guardian have returned to apologise to the store and the company, but the corporation has declined the apology because it wants to seek damages in court.

"It's the right thing to do," Takita, manager of the Tetsu Ryubo sushi restaurant in Yokohama's Honmoku area, south of Tokyo, said.

"The footage showed the boy's face, and many people will recognise him, so something like this is going to change his life for the rest of his life," he told DW. "And that makes me concerned for him. At the same time, he is old enough to see that what he was doing was totally wrong," he added.

"The restaurant's operator is taking a stand," he added. "Similar problems have happened in the past and they and all other restaurants want to make sure this does not happen again. That is why it is critical to involve the police and make an example of him."

Several restaurants are following Sushiro's lead and instituting zero-tolerance measures towards anyone who interferes with their operations, as per the report.

"Zensho Holdings Co, the owner of the Japan-wide Hamasushi chain, filed a similar complaint after a video showed someone putting excessive amounts of potent "wasabi" into another customer's sushi before returning it to the conveyer belt surfaced online. Other videos show a consumer licking a spoon used to serve green tea powder," the report said. 

(With Inputs From Agencies)