Incident at a High-End Restaurant in Japan's Main Entertainment District
Restaurant Says "Misunderstanding Due to Staff Error"
One in Three Tourists in Q1 from Korea
An incident occurred at a high-end restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, where 'water mixed with detergent' was served to a Korean customer. The Korean guest who drank the water reportedly had to be hospitalized.
According to JTBC on the 18th, the incident took place on the 31st of last month (local time) at a high-end restaurant in Ginza, one of Japan's representative bustling districts. At that time, a Korean woman named Kang drank water that smelled strange, vomited, and eventually had to be hospitalized.
According to local media reports, Kang reportedly sensed a strange smell, presumed to be hydrochloric acid, while drinking water handed to her by a female employee of the restaurant at the time of the incident.
The restaurant is reported to have served water mixed with detergent to a customer named Kang, causing controversy. [Image source=JTBC capture]
Kang told the employee that the water was "strange," but the employee showed no reaction. Rather, the employee tried to take the glass away without saying anything, so Kang had to take it back.
Later, when Kang's husband went directly to the kitchen to confront the female employee, she finally confessed to having put bleach detergent into the glass of water.
After drinking the water, Kang reportedly complained that her "throat felt like it was burning." When she could no longer endure the pain and tried to vomit, another employee approached and urged her to go to the restroom, saying, "It would be a nuisance if you vomit here."
Kang was then transported to a hospital in Tokyo, where medical staff diagnosed her with 'acute food poisoning.'
Regarding the incident, the restaurant claimed it was "an employee's mistake." A restaurant representative explained to the local media 'Yahoo Japan,' "We keep tentsuyu (tempura sauce) in a stainless steel water bottle, and when cleaning, we dilute commercial bleach with water. The female employee mistakenly poured that into the glass and served it."
As the controversy grew, the local health center suspended the restaurant's operations for four days. The restaurant was closed from the 8th to the 12th and resumed business on the 13th.
Subsequently, the restaurant issued an apology, stating, "We apologize for causing great pain and inconvenience to the customer and their family who suffered from food poisoning," and added, "We will review all hygiene-related operations to prevent recurrence."
However, the victim Kang claims the incident was due to the restaurant's 'intentional' act. Kang told JTBC, "Since it is a high-end restaurant, they usually pull out chairs for customers, but they did not do that for me," and added, "They must have known I was Korean from my appearance and accent."
Kang reported the restaurant on charges including professional negligence causing injury. Local police are investigating whether there was intent when the restaurant handed the water to Kang.
One in Three Tourists Visiting Japan in Q1 2023 Was Korean
Travelers visiting Seoul Gimpo International Airport are waiting to check their luggage. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@
Meanwhile, among foreigners who visited Japan in the first quarter of this year, Koreans were the largest group. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of tourists visiting Japan in March was 1,817,500, a 23% increase compared to the previous month. This is the first time since January 2020, the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the number of monthly visitors to Japan exceeded 1.5 million.
By country, Koreans were the most numerous. During this period, 466,000 Koreans visited Japan, reaching 79.9% of the level in the same month of 2019 before COVID-19. Taiwan followed with 278,900 visitors, and the United States with 203,000.
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