"Free" Beverage?

The convenience store staff intervened, when he saw a shopper openly drinking from a beverage from which he had taken from the shelf. Bewildered at the situation, the non-Japanese shopper demanded an explanation. After a heated argument between the two parties, it became evident that the confusion was due to a lost in translation. The foreign man explained that the bottle had a "Free Tea" label, prompting him to take a sip of what he thought was a complimentary drink. However, the confusingly named Free Tea was in fact a brand by the Japanese beverage giant Pokka Sapporo. 

This account was taken to twitter by a passerby, who witnessed the encounter. Almost immediately, it garnered over 34,000 retweets and 18,500 likes. Many twitter users took the opportunity to share their own experiences of linguistic confusion. One particular tweet explained that in Japan, the word "free" is more commonly interpreted as a lack of rather an item that is available without charge. While some locals empathize that travelers could indeed be misguided as Japan does distribute an abundance of freebies, such as pocket tissues and drinks on the streets, others were not as forgiving, pointing out that there was clearly a price tag on the beverage shelf.  

According to the official website of the beverage company, the drink is marketed to "encourage people to be free from a stress-filled society". Ironically, it has caused quite a stressful confrontation for the traveler.