In Japan, three people have been arrested for behaving “unhygienic” in sushi restaurants. For example, the trio licked bowls, toothpicks and chopsticks and then put them back on the table. Videos of restaurant guests behaving badly have been circulating on social media for some time now. The Japanese authorities cannot laugh and fear that the status of the “respectable sushi culture” will be damaged.
Last month, a video of a man licking a bottle of soy sauce at a sushi restaurant went viral. He also smears saliva on dishes that pass by on a conveyor belt.
The video caused a lot of copying behaviour. Young people in particular filmed themselves licking things in restaurants and smearing saliva on food passing on the conveyor belt. It even got a name on social media: sushi terror.
A spokesman for a popular sushi chain calls the videos of sushi terror dangerous. Because of the videos, many restaurants have decided to stop the conveyor belt with dishes. Instead they hire more staff to bring the food to the guests.
“The conveyor belt is an inseparable part of Japanese sushi culture, something we are very proud of. We want our guests to be assured that the food is safe, healthy and hygienic,” the spokesperson told BBC News. He added that several chains had fewer customers because of the videos.
The Japanese authorities are also not happy with the internet jokes. On Wednesday, three men aged 21, 19 and 15 were arrested in the southern city of Nagoya. They would have posted videos while they licked bottles and bowls in a restaurant. According to the police, this is a violation of Japanese law: citizens may not hinder a company in offering services.
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