3 ‘sushi terrorism’ pranksters arrested in Japan over unhygienic acts at restaurant
- Footage of their antics – including grabbing a piece of sushi from a plate as it passes, shoving the whole morsel into their mouth – sparked customer complaints
- The restaurant, where the incident happened, said it ‘hoped the arrests will spread awareness in society that these pranks are a crime’
Police accused the young trio of seeking to obstruct business at major restaurant chain Kura Sushi, which was bombarded with customer complaints after the video went viral.
The clip shows one member of the group 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.
Similar videos filmed at different chains surfaced last month on platforms including Twitter and TikTok, with some apparently weeks or even years old.
Other unsavoury pranks included customers touching moving pieces of sushi with a freshly licked finger, or sucking the rim of a teacup before placing it back on a shelf.
Local police said on Thursday that three people from the central Aichi region had been arrested.