'Sushi terrorism' grips Japan: Viral video trend leaves restaurant world fuming
1 min read . Updated: 03 Feb 2023, 09:49 PM IST
PremiumJapan is being shaken by a wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ with teenagers posting videos of themselves fingering food as it passes on restaurant conveyor belts and licking the tops of shared soy sauce bottles. In a country obsessed with hygiene, the pranksters have caused a wave of revulsion.
Digital creators chasing a ‘viral’ moment have managed to violate all food and hygiene norms in Japan. Conveyor belt restaurants in the country are dealing with a wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ - where people film themselves contaminating other people's food with saliva and other ingredients.
The videos feature customers at these revolving restaurants playing with other people's food as it passes by - from licking soy sauce bottles and tea cups to dropping wasabi into the meals of other people.
While there seem to be a just handful of videos - some of them weeks or even years old - Japan is a country that takes its sushi seriously. The incidents have sent shares of a leading kaitenzushi chain plummeting and even sparked a police investigation.
It has also prompted operators to rethink how they serve their dishes.
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One of the now viral videos shows a (presumed) teenager licking the open top of a communal soy sauce bottle and the rim of a teacup before placing both back on a shelf. The 48 second clip which has been viewed over 40 million times on Twitter also shows him licking his fingers and using it to touch two pieces of sushi passing on the conveyor belt.
According to local media reports, the incident was filmed at a branch of the Sushiro chain in the central city of Gifu. Akindo Sushiro Co said earlier this week that it would approach the police and called for strict action to be taken.
