A plate of sushi rolls down the lane at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant./Akio Kon/Bloomberg/Getty Images
2023.02.09 Thu posted at 17:37 JST
Tokyo/Hong Kong (CNN) Conveyor-belt sushi has long been a staple of Japanese food culture. But now, with videos posted of people licking communal soy sauce dispensers and pranking plates flowing over revolving lanes, the industry’s future is in question in a coronavirus-minded world. Voices are beginning to emerge.
A video shot at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant Sushiro recently went viral on the Internet. In the video, a male customer licks his finger and touches sushi flowing down the lane.
Criticism has been raised for these disturbing videos. Such acts are becoming more common in Japan, and are called “sushi terrorism” on the Internet.
Conveyor belt sushi chains such as Sushiro are fighting the problem of ‘sushi terrorism’. Courtesy Food & Life Companies Co. Ltd.
Food & Life Companies (F&LC), the parent company of Sushiro, takes this incident very seriously. F&LC said in a statement that it had filed a complaint with the police. According to the company, the male customer apologized. Employees have been instructed to provide sterilized tableware and condiments to customers who feel uneasy.
After a video went viral at Kura Sushi where a customer returned a plate to the lane following it was picked up, he consulted with the police on how to deal with it. The video, which is believed to have been filmed four years ago, has recently become popular once more.
In addition, Hamazushi has consulted with the police following a video was posted showing customers harassing customers.
Inside the Sushiro store where plates with pictures of sushi rotate instead of sushi.
Conveyor-belt sushi critic Nobuo Yonekawa believes that these incidents may be due to the lack of staff watching over customers inside the restaurant. The restaurant had recently cut staff to meet other rising costs, Yonekawa said.
Japan is one of the cleanest places in the world, and even before the Covid-19 pandemic, people regularly wore masks to prevent the spread of disease.
Yonekawa expressed his view that kaiten-zushi restaurants need to review hygiene standards and food safety in light of the coronavirus era and the incidents of these nuisance videos. In order to regain the customer’s trust, it is necessary to present a solution.
Companies have introduced measures to mitigate these concerns.
Sushiro has stopped serving unordered sushi in its lane. Now she has a picture of sushi on an empty plate to show customers what they can order. Sushiro also plans to install acrylic panels between the seats and lanes to limit contact with passing food.
Kurazushi embarks on surveillance using science and technology. A camera using AI (artificial intelligence) will be installed to monitor whether customers have put back the plates they picked up with their hands.