TOKYO: A few unhygienic pranks on sushi conveyor belt restaurants in Japan have sparked stock slumps, venue overhauls and legal action, along with furious social media commentary.
Several videos dubbed “sushi terrorism” possess emerged on social media, including Twitter plus TikTok, in current days, some of them apparently weeks or even years of age.
In one movie, viewed nearly 40 million times on Twitter, an evidently teenaged customer licks the top of a public soy sauce bottle and the rim of a teacup. He then places the items back on the shelf, before licking his finger and touching a piece of sushi as it goes past on the belt.
The video, filmed at a branch of the Sushiro chain in the central Japanese city of Gifu, prompted stocks in the restaurant’s parent company to plunge almost 5 per cent on Tuesday (Jan 31).
Other movies emerged showing clients at different stores putting wasabi on passing pieces of sushi or licking the particular spoon in a communal green tea powder box.
Though the occurrences appear to be confined in order to a few videos, they have got caused an uproar in Japan, a country with famously high standards associated with cleanliness.
“This is sickening, ” one Japanese Tweets user wrote in response, with another incorporating: “I can’t go to conveyor belt sushi restaurants anymore. inch
In a statement, Sushiro said the teen behind the virus-like video had apologised, along with his parents, but that the firm experienced filed an official police complaint.
“As a company, we will continue to respond firmly with both criminal and civil cases, inch it said.
It said all the soy sauce bottles at the affected store had been replaced and everything the cups cleansed. It also announced brand new restaurant policies.
At the Gifu department and others nearby, customers will now take items and condiments to their tables from a serving point, and countrywide, diners will be able to request disinfected tableware.
Two other affected chains, Hama-sushi plus Kura Sushi, possess both also apparently said they plan to take legal action, with the latter now planning to install cameras above conveyor belts to monitor customers, Jiji press agency reported.
In Tokyo, 20-year-old musician Luna Watanabe said she was appalled by the videos.
“Omotenashi (hospitality) is an important selling point in Japan, therefore i think it’s unpardonable, ” she told AFP in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza region.
“It’s damaging to customers and employees. ”
But others largely shrugged off the incident, including Tetsuya Haneda, the photographer.
“As far as I’m concerned, it only happened once, to ensure that doesn’t mean it happens all the time, inch he said.
“It’s not a problem – on the contrary, now there will be fewer people waiting in line, so I will never have to make a reservation anymore to visit and eat, even on the weekend. ”
Online too, after the initial outcry, there was something of a wave of assistance for the affected companies, with some tweeting their own backing under the hashtag #saveSushiro.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Sushiro but don’t have been able to due to the fact it’s always crowded, ” Japanese singer Yuya Tegoshi tweeted.
“But the situation now is the absolute worst for them, so I’m definitely going to visit. ”
Sushiro president Kohei Nii said on Twitter he had already been overwhelmed by “an outpouring of support”.
“I’m therefore grateful I could weep. ”