loading…
A culinary crime called sushi terrorism has shocked Japan. Photos/Illustrations
TOKYO – Culinary crimes against restaurants sushi ready-to-eat has stirred Japan . Actions referred to as “sushi terrorism” that has forced the Japanese police to intervene.
Videos showing the “sushi terrorism” have appeared on Twitter and other social media in recent days.
A video of the culinary crime’s most horrific, which has been viewed nearly 40 million times on Twitter, shows a teenager licking the top of an open ketchup bottle and all over the rim of a teacup, which he then places back on a shelf.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a 48-second video shows him licking his finger and using it to touch two pieces of sushi, which another customer may have ordered, as they pass by the conveyor belt.
The video, filmed at a branch of restaurant chain Sushiro in downtown Gifu, prompted shares in the restaurant’s parent company to plummet nearly 5% last Tuesday.
Another video shows people at another restaurant chain putting wasabi on pieces of sushi and licking the spoons from the powdered green tea containers used by many diners.
Read: Japan Cancels Rules for Using Masks Indoors
While the small number of incidents barely represents a wave of sushi crime, the videos have sparked quite a stir in Japan, where the industry is estimated to be worth $5.7 billion.
Much of the anger has been directed at the perpetrators’ display of contempt for Japan’s high standards of hygiene.
“This is sickening,” wrote one Twitter user, with another adding: “I can’t go to conveyor belt sushi restaurants anymore.”
