Japanese authorities have arrested two men for contaminating a communal bowl of pickled ginger at a restaurant in what has been dubbed food terrorism.

The men — Ryu Shimazu, 35, and Toshihide Oka, 34 — were accused of tainting the ginger at the chain restaurant Yoshinoya in Osaka in September, according to media reports. They have both been charged with obstruction of business and property damage.

Mr. Shimazu appears in a video committing the illegal act while Mr. Oka filmed it. Mr. Shimazu told police he wanted to do it to make people laugh, while Mr. Oka told authorities he shared the video “because it was funny,” reported CNN.

“The video made our regular customers feel uncomfortable and uneasy,” a spokesperson for Yoshinoya told the network. “We greatly regret that this has become a major news story that calls into question the safety and security of the entire food service industry. We sincerely hope that this kind of thing will not happen again in the future.”

Three people were arrested last month for contaminating food in Japan’s lucrative sushi conveyor belt restaurants, according to The Guardian.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.