Japan's War on Terrorism

The battle of the conbinis

Let me first make an uncontroversial statement about a topic that often ignites fierce debate. Terrorism is scary. Especially in Western countries, the term terrorist is designated for some of the worst criminals in society. It is a word that evokes entirely negative connotations for serious acts against your fellow citizen.

This term has unfortunately entered the Japanese lexicon too. Shortened to “tero”, being a terrorist is still rightfully judged as an ill upon society. Yet perhaps many of Japan’s newly branded terrorists would be marginally more welcome than the types described in the West.

Infidels in Rice

I won’t be discussing physically violent terrorists with their scary causes and weaponry. Instead, we are examining how terrorists can cause discord and mayhem in a community.

Now imagine the Japanese society. Perhaps its greatest strength and weakness is the common shared values of cleanliness, respect and collective responsibility. While some people would categorise this as mass conformity, there has been an effort to modernise. Especially in the past decade, there is a greater tolerance for people and actions that don’t match traditional standards.

This tolerance does not extend to everything. And so we shall introduce maybe the most high-profile case of Japanese terrorism. It was early 2023. An assault on Japan. Something that strikes at the very soul of community.

Sushi.

Specifically kaitenzushi or conveyer belt sushi. If you read the news you may have heard the reports. A series of lone wolf attacks on the cultural insitutions of quick and easy sushi. At first it was simply a novelty discussion amongst bored teens. TikTok and other platform pranksters would vandalise the sacred space of the kaitenzushi chains. Admittedly, there were no explosives used, but terror would be struck nonetheless.

Through public and horrific acts of defilement, the landscape of these venerable institutions would be forever changed to a security state much like the modern airport. Videos quickly circulated of strangers who would touch and even lick sushi with their hands before returning the sushi to the belts, or drinking from the communal soy sauce bottles.

Such crimes against hygiene hurt both the society and the sushi chains. As the videos spread, there were copycat attacks. Within days this issue had become a full blown international crisis with leading international news outlets speculating that this might signal an end to sushi as we know it.

Counter(top) terrorism

These acts were universally condemned but like all terrorism forced society to remould itself in a less innocent time. The illusion of a unified Japan was shattered. The values of a country who held strong against the forces of individual contempt and deliberate contamination looked like it was gone forever.

Response was instant. First were the financial ramifications, with leading chains like Sushiro immediately losing 5% of their total valuation. Of course, the terrorists do not get to win. These criminals were located reasonably easily given they shared their location and names to the world. Charged with obstruction of business, a number of teenagers are facing multimillion yen fines. Yet it is not in the days and weeks that terrorism achieves its goal, but in the months and years that follow.

The societal aftermath is still recovering. Despite fears that the kaitenzushi model could no longer survive, the nation rallied to continue to eat cheaply and well at such restaurants. Yet the old belt design would change. At Kura Sushi, millions was spent to add sensors and cameras to detect unclean behaviour. At Sushiro, a touchscreen digital system is installed to directly choose the sushi and removing the rotational sushi choices of a bygone era. Utensils and condiments are now often single serving, no longer a communal ginger or wasabi to be seen. The sushi security state has arrived.

The bonds of national sushi love has meant this dining experience still exists even in an altered state. Yet what has troubled many (the older generation) is that sushi tero is simply one step of the modern digital reality continue to tug at Japan’s unified society.

Part Time Terror

The battle for hygiene continues. While the sushi front was secured, a lingering memory would re-emerge. Known as baito tero or part-time work terrorism, this was an attack from within the food industry.

Sushi terrorism was patrons filming themselves doing unspeakable acts to the dining experience. Baito Tero (Following the German word for work, arbait) occurs when the server or staff does the same. First documented during the days of planking in 2013, it started out as seemingly harmless nonsense.

Employees at fast food chains might plank on countertops or hide in freezers. You know actions that are really funny. Yet as the humour subsided, this dormant form of worker mischief would evolve with the social media landscape. Then the first wave of terror occurred (see earlier sushi terror).

While upstanding citizens across the land were horrified, some saw the news and saw one key word. Trending. They saw the views rack up, the notoriety as the terrorists were reported on every station.

Thus the second stage of the war began. Between civility and barbarism. This time the enemy was already in the house. Reports spread of the local fast food worker doing what can only be described as stereotypically downtrodden American retail staff behaviour.

People were filming themselves spitting in food, using dirty hands, and actively eschewing the conventions of a healthy kitchen. What was worse was the seeming delight in recording these transgressions for the world to take part. Online challenges would form, with part-time workers competing to outgross and outmatch each other.

Even the national treasure of conbini workers had gotten involved. Seemingly overnight, the social contract of Japan was lost. That contract being, society would pay these part-time retail staff poorly with extra long hours, and in exchange the staff would provide Japan with world-class service.

We are now living in a world where this reality seems on the ropes. Broadcasters are questioning whether Japanese society is there to shift work habits to be slightly more favourable to the ground staff. Perhaps even the deferential nature of traditional corporate structure may change. While traditionalists may claim that this is bowing into the demands of the terrorists, I think there’s a third way forward.

Maybe we can have it all. Maybe we can still harshly judge and prosecute those who spread viral infections for the sake of viral trends. Maybe we can also treat those working pretty difficult roles with more dignity and even more money? Maybe we will live in a better society tomorrow than today.