The flap began when media reports emerged alleging that 400 Japanese men were serviced by 500 prostitutes while in Zhuhai between September 16 and 18. The reports caused outrage.
By yesterday afternoon, nearly 96,000 messages had been posted on mainland website Netease, criticising the Japanese tourists and the local government.
One message read: 'I want to cry about the sad news. And I feel very ashamed. The Zhuhai government should take responsibility for this.'
The reports have acted like a lightning rod for anti-Japanese sentiment, that has been brewing over issues such as the disposal of chemical weapons left in China following the Japanese occupation during the second world war.
The fact that the alleged orgy coincided with the September 18 anniversary of the 1931 Japanese invasion added fuel to the fire.
Media censors on the mainland have let the vitriol flow, and even the Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily has covered the scandal. Messages posted to websites have demanded the Japanese be brought back to China to stand trial. Many others demanded that Zhuhai officials resign.
'Prostitution is illegal in China. So how can such a large-scale orgy party take place publicly?' asked a message on the Xinhua forum.
Guangdong party secretary Zhang Dejiang has waded into the fray, ordering public security officers to 'handle the case in the strictest manner'.
Zhuhai Propaganda Department deputy chief Gao Demin yesterday said local officials 'had taken the case very seriously'.
'The incident is now under investigation. The investigation will be carried out by investigators from Guangzhou and our local policemen. If we find any person breaking our country's laws, we will arrest that person and punish him or her accordingly,' Mr Gao said.
A message on the China Daily website said: 'This issue can't be taken as prostitution simply. Those Japanese want to challenge our nation.'
A Sina.com posting read: 'It's a trivial matter for Chinese prostitutes to sell sex, but the key is to look at the intentions of the Japanese devils. They came on purpose for September 18.' Mainland media reports included accounts from eyewitness who claimed to have seen Japanese men cavorting with prostitutes in elevators and in the hotel lobby.
A spokesman for the hotel said the reports were exaggerated, while police said it was difficult for them to investigate the incident.
'Usually, a single prostitution case can only be confirmed if it is discovered while in progress,' a Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau spokesman said, adding that it would be difficult to find the people involved in the incident since it took place days ago.
But Ge Lei, a professor at Peking University, said finding the truth would be easy using eyewitness reports, confessions made by those who organised the prostitutes and security video footage.
'The key is the Chinese government's attitude. If the government wants to take it seriously, the issue can be cleared up soon. But if it doesn't, it is hard to say what will happen,' he said.
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