What is freeter terrorism?
Japanese media uses the term to refer to egregious behavior by part-time employees, primarily at restaurants and convenience stores, but some also post clips of their own misdemeanors on social media. Some people get into trouble.
is known as part-time terrorism (a combination of part-time job “The Japanese translation of the German word ‘work,’ shortened from the English word ‘terrorism.'” This phenomenon is different from the “sushi terrorism” that made headlines last year after a series of food products. Hygiene shenanigans at a budget restaurant. In these cases, the culprit was a customer, not an employee.
Why is it in the news in Japan?
Part-time terrorism entered the lexicon about 10 years ago, but it is once again receiving unfavorable coverage in the Japanese media as incidents continue to occur one after another.
In the most egregious incident, an employee of the Domino’s pizza chain appeared in a video clip posted on X (formerly Twitter) picking his nose and rubbing raw pizza dough with his fingers. It happened shortly after a part-time restaurant worker was filmed blowing whipped cream from a customer’s dessert into his co-worker’s mouth.
In a country that prides itself on the highest hygiene standards, and with consumers who demand nothing less, Domino’s Pizza Japan had all of its restaurant’s pizza dough thrown away, along with any extra ingredients.
“We deeply apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience caused to our customers,” the company added in a statement. “From now on, the entire company will do its best to prevent recurrence and restore trust.”
Is there anything restaurants and stores can do to prevent bite terrorism?
It’s hard to imagine how to stop social media users who crave online notoriety, but companies are fighting back to protect their reputations and, most importantly, prevent bad publicity from eating into their profits. .
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, an insurance company began selling “rumor damage insurance” four years ago. This system assumes risks related to online postings, such as bite terrorism and contaminated food and drink. The policy will cover costs incurred after the incident, including legal advice and the removal of online content, the paper said. The insurance company announced that the number of subscribers in December last year increased by 20% compared to the previous year. Another insurance company has seen an increase in the number of policyholders every year since it began providing the service in 2020, reaching about 20,000 as of the end of last year.
Measures are also being taken against the perpetrators. Some companies have filed lawsuits seeking compensation for damages, others have taken legal action, and several people have been arrested on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.Those found guilty face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 yen. [£2,620].
