Ein Video, in dem ein Thailänder von einem japanischen Supermarktangestellten beschimpft wird, weil er kurz vor dem Kauf heißes Wasser in einen Ramen-Nudelbecher gegossen hat, geht viral … Ist das nur eine örtliche Regel oder gilt es in Japan als Diebstahl?

You’re generally not allowed to open stuff before paying here. I got warned after opening and drinking a water bottle before purchasing the bottle a few seconds later once.

It is not about „local rules“ but more about how in Japan form and protocol have more priority than ad-hoc conditions. Japan has low tolerance for uncertainty, making them create rules and protocols for everything, and this means that such cases end up going through the machinery of „what does the rulebook say“.

Additionally, in Japan property is seen as a very strict thing and manipulating or taking an item that is not yours despite of the intent or reasoning can be used against you if you are not careful.

It is sadly not uncommon for people to be sued for taking something at a supermarket by mistake or dire need (even 100 yen stuff), opening packages before purchase even if they intended to buy them, and even there are cases of minors who took a few hundred yen worth of products and then went back to the shop to apologize and give it back that have been arrested by the police.

People do this all the time in America but it’s considered to be a little rude/weird. sometimes in movies/tv if a character is supposed to be “quirky” or “anti authoritarian” they will go out of their way to show them eating food in a grocery store before bringing the empty bag or bottle to the cashier to pay for it.

I imagine this was further complicated by communication issues and racial tension.

i remember quite rude signs in certain shibuya conbini addressed only at foreigners for opening drinks before paying and threateningto report to police.

it technically counts as shoplifting

This has been doing the rounds for a week and it’s really annoying. She barely scolds him she’s just like ‘don’t do that’. Cultural norms and misunderstandings are going to happen from time to time but this isn’t what this internet-based event is about, seems like what it’s really about is trying to generate outrage over an incredibly minor event. Let’s more on

I don’t think this is an issue of different cultures. Pretty sure you shouldn’t do that anywhere.

Man I’m really glad the moral high horse social media queens weren’t around when I first moved down, I made some mistakes (admittedly I’d never do this exact one) but instead of being used to jerk off bigots on social media I was allowed to grow and learn. Clerk seems to just correct behavior, but I do wonder how many of the online racists give no grace to tourists here but demand it when they travel, I’ve seen tourists of all kinds make asses of themselves all over the world and just shake my head and move on. Now it’s “evidence” for double digit IQ dorks to stroke their xenophobia.

Am I missing something? Isn’t it just incredibly normal and common sense anywhere to not open things until you pay?

I used to work in a supermarket in the U.S., and one thing most customers never see is how often food gets opened and then left behind.

Half-eaten cookies hidden behind cereal boxes. Open soda bottles leaking onto shelves. Ice cream left in random aisles to melt. It wasn’t occasional, it happened all the time. Every one of those items had to be thrown away. Someone had to clean it up. It added up.

That’s why most stores don’t allow people to open products before paying. It’s not about control or distrust. It’s about what actually happens in real life when that boundary disappears.

In Thailand, the expectation is also to pay before opening. Some stores are more relaxed and may tolerate it to avoid friction, assuming the person will pay. But that only works when people follow through.

Living in Japan now, the difference feels more rooted in social norms than enforcement. There’s a shared understanding that you don’t open something before paying for it. Because that expectation is widely respected, stores don’t need to rely on confrontation or strict policing. The system works because people maintain it.

If you’re in a country where you’re not a citizen, it’s your responsibility to understand how things are done locally before acting on what feels acceptable to you.

Before buying it? That’s valid, I wouldn’t scold a dude but yeah that’s.. I’d actually be pretty insulted that they thought my authority was the shop owner meant so little.. just my take i guess.. i certainly wouldn’t scold though

Try to not be miserable challenge

I’m from Vietnam, your basic 3rd world country, and no we don’t open things in the shop before we pay for it. Some few people do but it’s considered extremely rude and ill-mannered to do so.

The reason is with tradition. There’s a literal saying in my culture „Money paid, porridge scooped“. Need to pay that money first before you can use the things.

This is just common etiquette anywhere in the world. You pay for the item first before you use it.

It’s not yours if you haven’t bought, so it makes sense.

The man in this video obviously wasn’t planning to steal but what if he forgot his wallet?

Also, if the clerk wasn’t paying attention he could have spilled the content.

“Scolded” seems a bit excessive here? I suggest you watch the video.

By the way: I’m assuming you have to pay first, as logic suggests.

Not limited to Japan. We have fellow country man who are like this openinf packs of food in groceries.

“Scolded” is a stretch. The clerk politely told him it’s usually pay-first. I’m really getting tired of all this exaggerative outrage online all the time.

Wasn’t this a while ago? They made a satirical „response video“ about it too where they do the same thing in a convenience store but in Thailand. But the clerk is cool about it because the point they’re trying to make is, Thai people are chill unlike the Japanese. I don’t know why they gotta make everything racial.

It’s common sense to buy first. We don’t open food or drinks before paying. The act of paying gives the customer full rights to do whatever they want with the product, not before.

Here’s the problem. Ive seen a lot of comments in similar discussions and incidents, talking about „oh, but in this country that’s normal“ or how „in my country everyone does this“.
Unfortunately for you, this is not Thailand. It’s not whatever country you came from. This is Japan.
We have our own rules, our own society, laws, common sense.

Whatever was OK and acceptable in your country may not be so in Japan. If you come to Japan, it’s your responsibility to understand that. And if you can’t live by our rules, then you have no place here.

This isn’t a Japan only thing either, before any of you get upset. This applies to any country you go to. Each country has their own unique culture and society, that has built a common sense from said society. You can’t just apply what you know and your experience to their culture and expect THEM to adjust their entire culture and society to fit YOUR needs when there is a mismatch. This is ridiculous.

A lot of argument here in the comments, but FWIW the linked publication is bengoshi.com, where lawyers and people with legal backgrounds in Japan weigh in on these issues.

TL,DR: It is technically probably „theft“ from a legal perspective, but given the circumstances it would be extremely difficult to prosecute a customer for doing this, because under Japanese law „the determination of ‚theft‘ seems to place more emphasis on whether physical *control* was exercised over the object, rather than on whether the object was *consumed.*

>●タイ人男性を罪に問うことは難しい
今回のケースでは、カップ麺の「支配」をタイ人男性の下に移したといえることが必要になります。

>たしかに、「蓋を開けてお湯を注ぐ」ことで、このカップ麺はすでに元通りにすることができなくなっており、「窃取」したといえそうにも思えます。

>しかし、先ほど説明した裁判例などからすると、「窃取」の判断はその物を「消費」したかどうか、という観点よりも、物に対する物理的な「支配」が及んでいるかどうかを重視しているようです。

>カップ麺は未だにコンビニの中にあり、レジの近くにある給湯器でお湯を注いでいる段階では、カップ麺を支配しているのはタイ人男性ではなく、店主と考えるのが自然です。

>したがって、窃取したとはいえず、罪を問うことは難しいでしょう。

When in Rome…