We've updated our Privacy and Cookies Policy
We've made some important changes to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and we want you to know what this means for you and your data.
Sushi restaurants in Japan use AI to stop people licking food
Image source, Getty Images
A restaurant in Japan has installed an artificial intelligence cameras to stop unhygienic pranks.
The Kura Sushi chain announced the measures after a video of a man licking a sushi bottle at one of their restaurants went viral.
Videos of diners doing similar things have spread threatening the future of conveyor belt sushi as restaurants try and think of ways to reassure customers.
For some this has meant more cameras or even stopping the automated belt which carries the sushi round the restaurant completely.
It's been reported that some people accused of doing it have even been arrested.
What happened?
Image source, Getty Images
Kaitenzushi, which means conveyor belt sushi in Japanese, is a huge industry in Japan.
The first kaitenzushi appeared in Japan in the 1950s by a sushi restaurant owner to cut down on staffing, it involves a conveyor belt carrying plates around the restaurants for diners to pick as they pass.
Last month a man licking a soy sauce bottle and squashing dishes on a conveyor belt spread. Dozens of other videos have been released showing adults and children touching other people's dishes.
The pranks have worried a lot of Japanese diners in a country which values its cleanliness.
What action have restaurants taken?
Image source, Reuters
In eastern Japan, the Choushimaru chain said it would stop using its conveyor belts altogether after a man was filmed putting a cigarette end into a jar of pickled ginger.
Last month the Sushiro chain changed its rules with diners having to collect their own utensils and sauces from staff and an express lane conveyor belt delivering food directly to the customer.
Meanwhile the Kura Sushi chain has developed an Artificial Intelligence security system.
Some of its conveyor belts will now be equipped with sensors and cameras.
The restaurant says that if someone is caught interfering with a plate and then returning it to the belt an alert would be sent to the restaurants head office and the restaurant would be told, and it would be reported to the police.
According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, police have arrested three people over the issue.