Prank videos shatter Japan’s tradition of mutual trust

Prank pain: The ‘sushi terrorism’ viral videos are putting Japan’s proud culinary culture, including food and restaurant safety and security, at risk. — AFP

JAPAN’S kaitenzushi restaurant chains, which serve sushi via conveyor belts, are experiencing a tough time due to prank videos in which miscreants lick communal bottles of soy sauce, remove sushi plates from the conveyor belts and then put them back, and spray disinfectant on sushi. Such videos have been uploaded to Twitter and other social media sites, and affected companies are taking measures to minimise the impact on their customers. Some foreign TV news shows have even described it as “sushi terrorism”.

Kaitenzushi restaurants are popular among Japanese consumers as an entertaining way to eat sushi. They have many customers of every generation. Kaitenzushi is also popular among foreign visitors to Japan. It is a major Japanese invention that has been exported abroad.