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UNUSUAL – Picking your nose in pizza dough or sticking pubic hair in a curry: these are examples of “baito tero”, a phenomenon that is traumatizing Japan. “Baito” means “part-time job” and “tero” comes from the word “terrorism”. Essentially, this is a case where a part-time employee, usually at a fast food restaurant, films themselves doing something disgusting and posts it on social media.
The term has been around for about a decade, but we heard a lot about it in early February when a video went viral showing a Domino's Pizza employee smearing his snot on raw dough. Following this bad news, the fast food brand released an apology and the Amagasaki store guaranteed sanctions against the affected employees.
This is obviously reminiscent of “sushi terrorism,” a disgusting trend that broke out in Japan last year. Licking sushi and then putting it down, drinking from shared soy sauce – the pranks were the same, only in this case the customers were responsible. This series of tasteless pranks even caused the stock prices of restaurant chains to plummet, prompting legal action and outraged comments from local residents.
Regardless of whether it is “Sushi Tero” or “Baito Tero”, brands take these phenomena very seriously. According to the Guardian, there are even insurance policies that cover the costs associated with these incidents and they are becoming increasingly popular. Employees who are sued by their superiors face up to three years in prison and a fine of 3,000 euros.
See also on HuffPost:
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