Strict hygiene and cleanliness standards in Japan have been challenged in a recent episode dubbed “sushi terrorism”: videos in which young people are shown cupping and licking food that can then be eaten by other diners.
The images have been shared on social networks like Twitter and TikTok. One of the videos shows a young man licking a bottle of soy sauce and the rim of a glass. Afterwards, he puts the objects back on the revolving conveyor belt at a local restaurant. He also licks his fingers and touches food exposed there.
Scenes were filmed at a Sushiro restaurant in Gify, central Japan. After its disclosure, the company’s shares fell 5% on the Stock Exchange last Tuesday (31).
In other videos, customers at other chains put wasabi, a spice, on pieces of food that sit on rotating frames and lick spoons from a bowl of tea.
“It’s disgusting,” wrote one Twitter user. Another said he could no longer go to restaurants with rotating sushi mats.
The Sushiro network, in a statement, said that the teenager in the video that went viral apologized, but was sued in court for what he did. The company is also said to have replaced all soy sauce bottles available to customers and cleaned all glasses.
Two other chains, Hama Sushi and Kura Sushi, according to the British The Guardian, also said they plan to take legal action. Kura is also considering installing cameras above conveyor belts to monitor customers, the Jiji news agency reported.
Sushi restaurants with such mats have been common in Japan for decades. In addition to the outrageous messages on the networks, there were also users who sympathized with the possible consequences for the restaurants in which the scenes were recorded. Some people tweeted the hashtag “save Sushiro”, for example.
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