In a society where cleanliness is revered, a series of pictures showing unhygienic pranks involving food industry workers and customers has triggered a media storm after going viral on social-networking services.
The posts reflect a broader trend among young Japanese Internet users for sharing reckless exploits online, which some observers believe has the potential to harm their future prospects.
The first of the images to gain nationwide attention was posted on Facebook in mid-July by a clerk in an outlet in Kochi of major convenience store chain Lawson Inc. in which a man could be seen lying inside a large refrigerator for ice cream.