Last month an unfortunate story of misunderstanding blew up on local Twitter and newspapers, even making it to BBC News in the UK.

A convenience store was in commotion over a foreigner of Asian descent openly stealing a drink, and was arguing with staff demanding to know ‘what have I done wrong!?’. Neither the customer nor the convenience store staff seemed to be at fault, instead the problem was with the design of the drink bottle’s label, which reads ‘Free Tea’ (フリーティー).

Why might this be a problem? Whilst the word ‘free’ has many meanings, a native English speaker is most likely to think of ‘given or available without charge’ (Oxford Dictionary of English). According to the Japanese manufacturer’s product site, the product’s slogan is ‘ストレス社会解放応援飲料’, a drink to support freeing oneself from the stresses of modern life. ‘Free’ is also often used as a loan-word in Japan for things ‘free of’ something, such as calories, alcohol or purine. Even amongst Japanese native speakers this loan-word has a few meanings but its meaning broadens when read by a native English speaker as English, unlike the Japanese ‘自由’ or the French ‘libre’, doesn’t make a distinction between free of cost and freedom of self.

Translation and native checking services are thought of being a necessity when developing products or offering services abroad, but as the market for ‘inbound’ services in Japan grows with increasing tourism as Japan looks towards the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it’s equally important to consider the nuances of English for domestic products and services.