Sushi Chains Adopting Measures against Pranks

Tokyo, Feb. 4 (Jiji Press)--Conveyor-belt sushi restaurant chains in Japan are beginning to adopt strict measures against inappropriate behavior by customers after videos of such actions were posted online.

The pranks in the controversy took advantage of the increasing mechanization of stores, including for serving customers, but it is not easy to increase employees amid a serious labor shortage.

Companies are therefore aiming to fight back by using non-labor intensive steps such as by installing acrylic panels and upgrading surveillance cameras.

Sushi chain Sushiro was the victim of a prank in which a man put his mouth on a soy sauce bottle. The Food & Life Companies Ltd. <3563> unit decided to only put on conveyor belts sushi that was ordered by customers, basically preventing people from freely taking dishes.

For items and condiments on tables, Sushiro will replace them with sanitized ones upon customers' request.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]