News On Japan

McDonald's Japan giving away 130 million free coffees starting 16 October

Oct 12, 2017 (rocketnews24.com) - In a tweet posted on 9 October, McDonald's Japan announced that their coffee has undergone a revamp to give it "the richest taste and aroma in McHistory."

I always thought McDonald's has gotten a bum rap when it comes to coffee. Without the all the fancy varieties and Italian words found in more fashionable coffee houses, this clown-backed burger shack still manages to make a mean cup of coffee.

They seem to feel the same way, which is why they really want to get the word out to everyone in Japan. And to do that, they are offering a free cup to everyone in the country.

That's free small hot coffees for the first 130 million customers to be exact, all being handed out between the hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. from 16 to 20 October.

Considering the population of Japan is around 127 million and change, and adding in the estimated 400,000 tourists that visit the country during a five-day span, that's still about two million unaccounted for coffees even before subtracting all the infants and Latter Day Saints. In other words, McDonald is clearly looking for blanket saturation on this promotion in making sure every man, woman, and caffeine-craving kid gets a sip of their new coffee.

Despite all this, there might be some timid types who still feel guilty about walking into a business simply to claim a free coffee. Luckily, McDonald's has that base covered too, by offering Cinnamon Melts for 290 yen (US$2.60) also starting on 16 October.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan’s World Cup campaign ended in the cruelest possible fashion on June 29, as Gabriel Martinelli scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil a 2-1 victory over the Samurai Blue in their knockout match in Houston. Japan had led in the first half and were still level at 1-1 in the final moments, but Martinelli’s late strike sent Brazil into the Round of 16 and eliminated Japan from the tournament.

Strong earthquakes have continued to shake parts of Japan in recent weeks, with 11 temblors measuring lower 5 or above on the Japanese seismic intensity scale recorded across the country since April 2026.

A Kintetsu Railway train derailed inside Kyoto Station on the morning of June 29, forcing partial suspensions on the Kintetsu Kyoto Line for the rest of the day and causing long delays that hit commuters, students and tourists.

A section of stone wall at Hikone Castle, one of Japan’s few surviving original Edo-period castles and a National Treasure whose main keep remains intact more than 400 years after its construction, collapsed after heavy rain caused by Typhoons No. 7 and No. 8, Hikone city officials said.

Japan advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden on June 25, finishing second in Group F and setting up a Round of 32 clash with Brazil in Houston.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Yukio Tanaka, a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Kudo-kai crime syndicate, as his trial over the 2013 fatal shooting of Osho Food Service president Takayuki Ohigashi concluded at the Kyoto District Court, with a verdict scheduled to be handed down on October 16.

Shinjuku Ward, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have jointly established a Kabukicho measures council to strengthen efforts to prevent young people known as "Toyoko Kids" from being drawn into crime in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.

A 23-year-old Chinese man has been arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury after allegedly crashing a Porsche into two vehicles at an intersection in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward on June 9, leaving three people with minor injuries.

The number of people with dementia or suspected dementia who were reported missing to police totaled 17,345 in 2025, down by nearly 800 from the previous year but still at a high level, according to a National Police Agency summary.

Removal work has finally begun on a massive hose that washed ashore on the coast of Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, six months ago, but crews are already facing difficulties because the structure is filled with a large volume of water.

A 50-year-old woman has been arrested in Kobe on suspicion of abandoning the dismembered body of her former husband in a large freezer at a condominium unit, where she allegedly continued paying rent for more than 14 years while hiding his death.

A 50-year-old member of an organization affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate has been arrested in Yamaguchi Prefecture after nearly nine years on the run over the 2017 fatal shooting of a bodyguard for the leader of a rival group in Kobe.

An Iranian national has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle more than 40 kilograms of stimulants from the United Arab Emirates into Japan in March, after customs officers found the drugs hidden in the bottom section of a machine used in the process of making naan bread.