Sushi Company Targeted by "Saliva Terror" Withdraws 600 Million Won Lawsuit Against Japanese Teenager

Chain Store Side "Reconciliation with Acceptable Explanation"
Parent Company's Stock Drops 5% Following Sushi Terror Video

Japan's famous conveyor belt sushi franchise 'Sushiro' filed and later withdrew a damages lawsuit worth 67 million yen (approximately 600 million KRW) against a teenage boy who filmed and posted a video of himself licking a soy sauce bottle inside one of their stores. Earlier, Sushiro claimed that the video caused a decline in customers and a drop in stock prices, resulting in significant damages.

According to local Japanese media such as the Tokyo Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun on the 2nd (local time), the damages lawsuit filed by Sushiro was settled through mediation at the Osaka District Court on the 31st of last month.

Regarding this, Sushiro stated, "Boy A acknowledged responsibility and reached a settlement with acceptable terms."

Previously, in March, Sushiro had filed a 67 million yen damages lawsuit against Boy A, who posted the so-called 'sushi terror' video on social networking services (SNS).

A video posted by a Japanese teenage boy named A, who uploaded the so-called 'Sushi Terror' video. [Image source=SNS capture]

In January, Boy A engaged in unhygienic acts at a Sushiro store located in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, such as licking the mouth of a soy sauce bottle and the edge of a dish, and dipping his finger in saliva to poke sushi passing on the conveyor belt. He also recorded these actions on video and uploaded it to SNS. In the video, the boy even gave a thumbs-up and smiled as if finding it amusing.

The video quickly spread, and at that time, Sushiro's parent company's stock price dropped by nearly 5%. Sushiro claimed that due to the controversy related to the video, losses exceeding 1.6 million yen (approximately 14.5 million KRW) occurred in just one day. Some stores even removed the conveyor belt, a symbol of sushi restaurants, as a result of the backlash.

Sushiro stated at the time, "The boy's actions caused the hygiene management of each store to be questioned, causing discomfort and disgust to many customers," and added, "We are implementing measures such as installing acrylic panels to prevent similar acts, so the amount claimed for damages may increase."

In response, Boy A's side requested dismissal of the claim, saying, "He is spending every day in reflection." It was reported that in a court response submitted in May, Boy A repeatedly apologized, stating, "I am spending every day reflecting."

Meanwhile, although Sushiro withdrew the damages lawsuit against Boy A, it was reported that Boy A was referred to family court on the 1st for the separate charge of damaging property by contaminating products with saliva.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.