Japan begins arrests of ‘sushi terrorism’ suspects

Arrests have been made in Japan after a wave of “sushi terrorism” upended the restaurant industry in the Land of the Rising Sun, where reports of deliberately unhygienic behavior by sushi restaurant customers have increased in recent weeks, including an incident in which a diner drank from a shared bottle of soy sauce.

Japan’s police have made several arrests after the country’s multi-billion dollar circulating sushi industry was rocked by a wave of “sushi terrorism”, including a case in which a customer slobbered over food intended for other patrons, writes The Guardian.

The Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday that three people – all from the same group of visitors – were arrested on suspicion of forcibly obstructing business.

The arrests are believed to be the first involving customers suspected of “unhygienic and abusive behaviour,” Kyodo said, and come amid reports of an increase in food-related crimes in Japan’s budget restaurant sector.

Those arrested include a 21-year-old who allegedly drank from a shared bottle of soy sauce at a Kura Sushi restaurant in downtown Nagoya early last month.

Two other visitors, a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl, were also arrested for allegedly helping to share a 10-second video that showed him putting a bottle of soy sauce to his mouth.

Kura Sushi said it appreciates the “quick response from the police,” according to SoraNews 24. The firm said in a statement: understanding that such actions are a crime will deter others from such behavior.”

A spate of hygiene incidents, including one in which a teenager licked the rim of a teacup before putting it back on the shelf and then wiped his saliva on a plate of passing sushi on a conveyor belt, first came to light earlier this year that has forced restaurant chains to take drastic measures to attract nervous customers back to their establishments.

This week, Choshimaru, which operates outlets in the greater Tokyo area, said it was suspending conveyor belts that serve food to customers, weeks after market leader Sushiro said his sushi would only be delivered by “express train.” lines” to customers who order using touchscreen devices, making it harder for other diners to engage in inappropriate food antics.

Kura Sushi has said it will soon begin using AI-equipped cameras to monitor customers’ tables, despite complaints that it is actually putting its customers under surveillance.

The Kaitenzushi business, which has grown to 740 billion yen (£4.5 billion / $5.4 billion) since the opening of the first restaurant in Osaka in 1958, is in the midst of a drive to use cutting-edge technology, serving sushi to customers on conveyor belts. to speed up the delivery of food to visitors and address chronic labor shortages.

However, recent changes seem to be returning sushi to its “analogue” roots, with hundreds of restaurant patrons having to wait for their orders to be hand-delivered.