Web Desk
Police in central Japan have arrested three people after the country’s multibillion-dollar revolving sushi industry was rocked by a spate of “sushi terrorism”, including a case in which a customer wiped saliva on food destined for other diners.
The actions, which appear to be becoming more commonplace, are known online as “#sushitero” or “#sushiterrorism” and have affected the financial fortunes of the country’s famous rotating kaiten-style restaurants.
In February, the video of a man licking a soy sauce bottle on a sushi train went viral, sparking outrage. In the video, the man can be seen rubbing saliva on passing dishes at a Kura Sushi restaurant branch. After it, many similar videos were made public showing various perpetrators filming themselves while licking shared soy sauce bottles or touching plates of food coming down conveyor belts.
According to reports, some sushi train restaurants have made public appeals for offenders to stop their food sabotage. But some eateries have even made the choice to stop operating their main attraction altogether, with sushi conveyor belts coming to a halt across the country.
In Japan sushi train restaurants are known as Kaiten-sushi.
One of the affected chains, Kura Sushi has reportedly said the three had taken part in an “extremely malicious nuisance” at its restaurant in the city of Nagoya on February 3.
“We hope that the recent arrests will allow the public to recognize that actions which undermine our trust-based structure for our customers is a ‘crime,’” it said in a statement. “Our company will continue to strive to further improve the system to prevent such nuisances so that customers can enjoy their meals safely and comfortably. We will continue to do our best to … grow the conveyor belt sushi culture that is dear to Japan globally.”
