A popular revolving sushi chain in Japan is under fire after one of its workers disposed of a fish before returning it to the cutting board to “serve” it.
The incident, which was caught on video, occurred in the kitchen of one of Kura Sushi’s 400 locations across the country, the Japan Times reported.
In the video, the male employee is seen slicing a fish lengthwise.
“I’m going to throw this away,” he says behind his mask.
The worker proceeds to throw a cut of the fish into the trash can behind him.
But in a shocking turn of events, he takes the fish out and apparently returns it to the cutting board.
The person filming the scene is heard laughing shrilly.
“They say he’s not mentally handicapped,” a superimposed text says in the video.
The shocking clip immediately went viral on Japanese Twitter, with many slamming Kura Sushi for the disgusting “joke.”
However, it turns out that the incident was real, as confirmed by the sushi chain in a statement.
“Through a video posted to the Internet, we have learned that a part-time employee at Kura Sushi’s Moriguchi City [in Osaka Prefecture] branch engaged in inappropriate behavior,” the company said, according to SoraNews24.
“We would like to express our deep regret for the disgust and unease this has caused our customers.”
Kura Sushi claimed that “similar problems” have occurred at “other chains,” though it did not mention which.
“Similar problems have occurred at various other chains, and our company is taking constant care to prevent them, but our efforts were insufficient and the incident took place, and we sincerely apologize.”
The chain assured the public that the particular fish was not served. Additionally, it said that measures to deal with the employee are being taken care of.
“After questioning the employee about the details of the incident, we have been able to confirm that the fish was disposed of and not served to customers, despite the disposal not being shown in the video.
“We are taking this situation very seriously, and examining the significant legal repercussions in determining how to deal with the employee. In addition, we are making the utmost effort in thoroughly training and educating employees so that such inappropriate behavior is not repeated.”
Despite Kura Sushi’s assurance, some found it hard to believe that the employee threw the fish back to the cutting board after retrieving it from the half-full trash can.
Japanese netizens commented:
“It’s literally garbage.”
“Now I’m scared of eating sushi.”
“Is he that sick to do such a thing?”
“Let’s all stop eating at Kura Sushi.”
“I doubt this didn’t make it to the revolver.”
Images (Screenshots) via YouTube / kt7000号
