So-called sushi treadmills are very popular in many restaurants. In Japan, they are now becoming a hygiene trap: a video on Twitter shows a guest licking soy sauce bottles and teacup rims. This not only causes disgust, but also causes stocks to slump.

A few unsanitary pranks in restaurants with sushi conveyor belts have not only caused massive outrage in Japan, but also stock market losses and legal consequences. Videos published on the online networks under the name “sushi terror” have been clicked on and shared millions of times over the past few days – even if some of them were apparently created weeks or even years ago. In a video on Twitter that has received nearly 40 million views, a teenage shopper licks the lid of a bottle of soy sauce on the table and then the rim of a teacup before putting it back on the shelf. He then licks his finger and touches it to a piece of sushi that is passing him on the conveyor belt.

After the release of the video, which was recorded at one of its branches in the central Japanese city of Gifu, shares in the restaurant chain Sushiro fell nearly 5 percent. Other videos show customers at other sushi restaurants spreading wasabi on passing sushi or licking spoons for a green tea container.

Apparently there are only a few videos – but in the East Asian country known for its high standards of cleanliness, they initially caused a scandal. “This is disgusting,” wrote one user on Twitter. “I can no longer go to restaurants with a sushi conveyor belt.” Sushi chain Sushiro said the young malefactor in the video apologized along with his parents. Nevertheless, she reported it: “As a company, we have to react decisively”.

According to Sushiro, all soy sauce bottles in the affected restaurant have now been replaced and all cups have been cleaned. In addition, new rules were issued: customers must get spices and cutlery in certain restaurants instead of finding them on the table. Nationwide, they can also receive disinfected dishes on request in the future. The restaurant chains Hama-Sushi and Kura Sushi are also planning legal action because of the incidents in their branches. According to the Jiji news agency, Kura Sushi also announced that it would monitor its sushi conveyor belts with video cameras in the future.

After an initial outcry, many Internet users are now also expressing their sympathy for the restaurant operators affected. Under the hashtag