Cost of sushi? 132 yen. Cost of being a moron? 500,000.
In addition to being tasty, casual, and convenient, low prices are a big part of the appeal of Japan’s conveyor belt sushi restaurants. At the most popular major chains, for example, you can usually get a two-piece plate of mainstays like tuna or salmon for 200 yen (US$1.25) or less.
A 43-year-old man’s meal at a branch of conveyor belt sushi chain Hama Sushi in Saitama Prefecture, though, is going to end up costing him a lot more than that, but he really has no one to blame but himself.
As we discussed earlier this month, the man went into a Hama Sushi branch in the town of Tsurugashima on May 27, then filmed himself taking a plate of tuna sushi from the conveyor belt, pulling a dish soap container out of his bag, and squirting liquid from the bottle onto the fish. He then posted the video online, later telling investigators that he did it because he wanted “to get a lot of views on social media.”
Unfortunately for him, after seeing the video neither Hama Sushi nor the police smashed that like button, and he was arrested on charges of forced obstruction of business, and Saitama’s Kawagoe Summary Court has now handed down its verdict, ordering the man to pay a fine of 500,000 yen (US$3,125).
Though equivalent to the cost of 3,788.88 plates of Hama Sushi’s tuna sushi, 500,000 yen isn’t exactly a your-life-is-ruined sum, and many online commenters have expressed anger that the penalty wasn’t more severe. One factor in the decision may have been that the man squirted the liquid (which he later claimed was water that he’d put inside a dish soap bottle) onto a plate of sushi that he seemed to have ordered for himself, since it automatically came to a stop on the conveyor next to his table and he took the plate off the belt before applying the liquid. Though the video cut off before showing what happened to the sushi, it’s unlikely that any other customer would have consumed the foreign substance, which may have gotten him some clemency. Nevertheless, after becoming aware of the video Hama Sushi, as a precaution, had to disinfect the possibly affected area within the restaurant, and employees also had to spend extra time responding to customer complaints and inquiries about the incident, leading to the ruling that the man was guilty of the forced obstruction of business charge.
Even within a culture that’s passionate about food, Japan is particularly fond of conveyor belt sushi restaurants, with a wide swath of the population regularly eating at them. At the same time, both restaurant customers and operators know that the system is highly dependent on trust and considerate, hygienic conduct, and so while the fine could have been bigger, hopefully the swiftness with which the punishment was handed out will discourage others from similar disgusting acts.
Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Jin, Saitama Shimbun
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