Japanese Student Licks Sushi Conveyor Belt Items & Causes Chain RM500 Million Loss
In the video, the boy lathered his finger with his saliva then prodded the sushi dishes as they passed.
By Deborah Chan — 07 Feb 2023, 06:40 PM
A video of a Japanese high school student licking items on a conveyor belt at a sushi restaurant in Gifu, Japan, recently went viral
In the video uploaded to Twitter, a blonde 17-year-old is seen taking a joke way too far while dining at a Sushiro branch in Japan's Gifu prefecture. The boy is seen licking the rim of a soy sauce bottle that is provided for the use of all diners.
He did the same thing to an unused cup and placed it back on the shelf for future unsuspecting customers to use.
Then, he lathered his finger with his saliva and prodded the sushi dishes as they passed on the conveyor belt.
The video went on to receive over 40 million views on Twitter, and even began an internet trend called sushi terrorism
The trend saw videos of other diners contaminating sushi dishes and utensils begin to surface.
According to The Mainichi, after the video went viral, the sushi company implemented a thorough disinfection and disposal of soy sauce bottles at the affected store.
"We'd like to consult with the police after conducting a thorough internal investigation. We consider the incident a serious matter as it causes anxiety among our customers. We hope that those involved in the case will take full responsibility for their actions," the company told the Japan daily.
Akindo Sushiro's market value also dropped by around 16 billion yen (approximately RM500 million) after the video garnered international recognition
According to 8world, the video had caused many customers to worry about the hygiene of sushi conveyor belt chains, causing the stock price of Food & Life Companies, the parent company of Sushiro, to slump.
Kyodo News reported that the company had reported the incident to the police, and legal action will be taken against the teenager.
The company had also reportedly received personal apologies from the juvenile and his guardian involved, but Akindo Sushiro decided to settle the case according to law and refused to withdraw the report.
The company has also set in place new dining procedures in an effort to maintain the hygiene of their sushi
According to the Japan Times, the chain restaurants will temporarily limit the use of their conveyor belts by no longer providing a continuous flow of sushi dishes, but instead will send out their sushi according to customers' orders
Additionally, all Sushiro restaurants will be installing acrylic dividers between the sushi and the customers to avoid unnecessary contact between them.
They went on to state that if any customer felt uneasy about using tea cups and condiments provided on their tables, the restaurant will replace them with different ones when asked to do so.
