3 Arrested in Japan in Connection with 'Sushi Terrorism' Stunts

Customers dine at a conveyor sushi location in Japan.Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty

Three people have been arrested in Japan following their alleged connection to what’s being described as “sushi terrorism” — unsanitary pranks at sushi conveyer belt restaurants that have been captured on viral video and have sparked outrage.

Police in the city of Nagoya arrested 21-year-old Ryoga Yoshino — alleging he is the person who licked a bottle of soy sauce in a widely-circulated video — as well two teens, ages 19 and 15.

The alleged “sushi terrorism” incident took place at a Kura Sushi conveyor-belt sushi restaurant on Feb. 3. Police say that after the circulation of the video, the restaurant’s management company had to deal with compensation claims which made it “difficult to conduct normal business,” theTimesreports.

A dish is shown at a conveyor sushi location in Japan.Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty

A spokesperson forKura Sushitold the BBC that the trend — which has been happening since January on social media — is “extremely dangerous.”

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“Conveyor belt sushi is something we are proud of as part of Japanese culture. We want to make sure our customers can eat sushi delivered on the belt safely and comfortably,” he said.

All suspects involved allegedly admitted to their involvement in the prank, with one allegedly apologizing to authorities, according to reports.

The statuses of their cases were unclear.

NPR reports thatthe restaurant chainfiled a complaint for damages with police.

Now, conveyor belt sushi restaurants are looking to alleviate customer concerns. While some chains (such as Choushimaru) have opted to not use conveyor belts altogether, per the BBC, discount chain Sushiro now aims to have customers order off a touch screen — rather than grabbing their food off the belt — and Kura Sushi aims to use artificial intelligence to crack down on unsanitary behavior, per theTimes.

This method will involve an existing network of cameras at tables that will keep an eye on customer behavior. And, if a person is caught returning a plate that has been tampered with, an alarm will sound for staff to report the incident to police.

source: people.com