Delhi, March 11: Three arrests have been made in Japan after the country’s multibillion dollar revolving sushi industry was hit by a spate of disgusting pranks as videos of customers licking, spraying hand sanitiser on food at conveyor-belt have surfaced on social media. Footage of the pranks, dubbed “sushi terrorism”, have been widely shared in the country and have sparked outrage.

Sushi is a Japanese dish consisting of small balls or rolls of vinegar-flavoured cold rice served with a garnish of vegetables, egg, or raw seafood. Roommates Pull Off Christmas Prank on Friend by Covering the Entire Room in Wrapping Paper; Check How It All Turned Out.

What is Sushi Terrorism?

Pranksters have been caught on camera spoiling food as it travels on the conveyor belt, licking the plates and cutlery and even taking portions of the food, tasting it and putting it back. As the videos went viral, the sushi restaurants lost customers’ trust and their businesses have suffered. The acts have been termed ‘sushi terrorism’ in Japan. Viral Video of Alligators Enjoying a Good Scratch Is Too Cute To Be Missed.

In a video that had gone viral recently, prompting cops to take swift action and arrest three, one of the three accused was seen grabbing a piece of sushi from a plate as it passes, shoving the whole morsel into their mouth and then drinking soy sauce directly from a communal bottle at a Kura Sushi conveyor-belt restaurant.

The pranks have severely impacted business as the three have been accused of seeking to impact business at major restaurant chain Kura Sushi after customers flooded it with complaints as the video went viral on social media.

Conveyor belt sushi or sushi trains is a type of sushi restaurant in which a conveyor belt winds through the restaurant, and carries plates of sushi past the diners, who can take whatever they wish. The practice of conveyor-belt sushi began in 1947 when Osaka restaurateur Yoshiaki Shiraishi visited an Asahi factory and saw a winding stream of beer bottles floating across the brewery's filling floor on a conveyor belt.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 11, 2023 11:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).