Police have arrested three people on suspicion of involvement in nuisance crimes such as licking a shared soy sauce bottle at a sushi restaurant and posting a video of the act online.
The move, made public by the police on Wednesday, is believed to be the first instance of customer arrests for such unhygienic and harassing behavior, following revelations of similar acts at many eateries in Japan since earlier this year.
The police allege Ryoga Yoshino, 21, licked a tabletop soy sauce bottle to be shared by customers at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant of Kura Sushi Inc. in Nagoya on the night of Feb. 3.
Yoshino and two minors aged 19 and 15 were also involved in sharing online a 10-second clip capturing the act, the police said, noting it constitutes obstruction of business under the Penal Code.
All the suspects admitted to having been involved in the wrongdoing, the police said, adding that none of them has a fixed abode.
