Wave of ‘sushi terrorism’ grips Japan’s restaurant world

There are breaches of etiquette – drenching your atom successful soy sauce, for 1 – and past location are heinous acts of “sushi terrorism”.

Japan’s signature cuisine is astatine nan centre of a constabulary investigation aft customers astatine revolving sushi restaurants posted video clips of themselves interfering pinch nutrient and playing pranks connected different customers.

The incidents person sent shares plummeting successful a starring kaitenzushi concatenation and prompted operators to rethink really they service their dishes.

Several acts of what is being called “sushi terrorism” person emerged connected Twitter and different societal media successful caller days, though immoderate apparently day backmost weeks, and moreover years.

A clip of nan astir egregious culinary crime, which has been viewed almost 40m times connected Twitter, shows what appears to beryllium a teen licking nan unfastened apical of a communal soy condiment vessel and nan full rim of a teacup, which he past places backmost connected a shelf.

If that wasn’t bad enough, nan 48-second clip shows him licking his digit and utilizing it to touch 2 pieces of sushi, presumably ordered by different customer, arsenic they recreation past connected nan conveyer belt.

The video, filmed astatine a branch of nan Sushiro concatenation successful nan cardinal metropolis of Gifu, prompted stocks successful nan restaurant’s genitor institution to plunge astir 5% connected Tuesday.

Other videos show group astatine different chains putting wasabi connected passing pieces of sushi and licking nan spoon from a instrumentality of green-tea powder that is utilized by aggregate diners.

While nan mini number of incidents hardly points to a sushi crime wave, nan videos person sparked uproar successful Japan, wherever nan manufacture is worthy an estimated ¥740bn (£4.7bn/$5.7bn).

Most of nan outrage is reserved for those who show contempt for nan country’s precocious standards of hygiene.

“This is sickening,” 1 Twitter personification wrote, pinch different adding: “I can’t spell to conveyor loop sushi restaurants immoderate more.”

Sushiro, nan marketplace leader, said this week that nan man who made nan viral video had apologised, on pinch his parents, but added that it had revenge criminal and civilian cases.

The clips prompted Sushiro to switch each of nan restaurant’s soy condiment bottles and rewash its teacups. It has besides stopped placing condiments and utensils connected each array astatine nan edifice successful mobility and others located nearby, and is asking diners to cod them from a serving point, Japanese media reports say.

Two different chains, Hama Sushi and Kura Sushi, person besides said they scheme to return ineligible action, pinch nan second readying to instal cameras supra conveyor belts to show customers, Jiji property agency reported.

While immoderate societal media users said of their nausea aft watching nan clips, others voiced sympathy for kaitenzushi operators.

“I’ve ever wanted to spell to Sushiro but haven’t been capable to because it’s ever crowded,” nan vocalist Yuya Tegoshi tweeted. “But nan business now is nan absolute worst for them, truthful I’m decidedly going to visit.”

The firm’s president, Kohei Nii, said he had been overwhelmed by nan outpouring of support, tweeting: “I’m truthful grateful I could cry.”