McDonald's Co. (Japan) said it will hand out 10 million hamburger coupons on Sunday in an attempt to buck up sales following the outbreak of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease.
Almost all McDonald's shops across Japan will give one coupon for each purchase of designated menu items on Sunday, which it is calling "Mac Hamburger Day," the company said Tuesday.
Coupon holders will be entitled to a free hamburger, normally costing 80 yen, from Monday to Jan. 25.
"We want people to recognize again that our hamburgers are tasty and can be eaten without anxiety," a company official said.
McDonald's hamburgers in Japan are made of Australian-produced beef. The mad cow case in the United States in December prompted Japan and dozens of other nations to ban imports of U.S. beef products.