3 Arrested Over Sushi Restaurant Prank In Japan, May Face Up To 3 Years’ Jail

Authorities In Japan Arrest 3 People Over Sushi Restaurant Prank

Back in January, a video of a Japanese student licking a soy sauce bottle in a Sushiro outlet went viral.

Unfortunately, what followed was a series of similar pranks at other sushi restaurants in the country.

Authorities in Japan recently arrested three people in connection with one of the incidents, including two minors.

3 people arrested over sushi restaurant prank in Japan

According to The Japan News, yet another case of ‘sushi terrorism’ took place at the Kura Sushi Nagoya Sakae restaurant in Nagoya, Japan on 3 Feb.

Police arrested a 19-year-old man on 5 Feb, while his companions, a 21-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, were taken into custody on Wednesday (8 Mar).

Source: Google Maps

According to AFP, the trio is accused of seeking to obstruct business at the restaurant.

The 19-year-old had allegedly filmed the other man putting the spout of a communal soy sauce bottle in his mouth. The girl was also present at the scene at that time.

They then posted the video to social media, where it went viral and sparked outrage.

The prank disrupted the eatery’s operations as it was then bombarded with complaints and had to sanitise its premises.

AFP states that under Japanese law, “forcible obstruction of business” may carry a three-year prison term.

The BBC notes that these are likely the first arrests since videos of this nature went viral.

All three suspects have confessed to the crime, with one reportedly apologising.

‘Sushi terrorism’ videos now viral

Branded ‘sushi terrorism’, several videos of customers in Japan contaminating sushi dishes have gone viral in the country.

Several eateries have appealed to the public to stop with such pranks.

Others have stopped using conveyor belts entirely, such as the Choushimaru chain of restaurants.

A customer had allegedly placed a cigarette butt in a jar of pickled ginger in one of its outlets.

Source: Meet Food

A spokesperson for Kura Sushi said this trend is “extremely dangerous” and threatens the tradition of using conveyor belts.

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

In response to the incident, Kura Sushi has developed an alert system to equip some conveyor belts with sensors and cameras.

If a customer returns a plate that’s been tampered with, Kura Sushi’s offices in Saitama will receive an alert and inform the affected outlet.

Additionally, the new sensors can identify the plate and seat number of the person involved in the prank.

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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.