(Bloomberg) -- Shares of a Chinese beverage maker soared after a surge in online sales following unconfirmed reports that the company’s packaging included criticisms of Japan’s discharge of treated wastewater from a nuclear plant.

Xiangpiaopiao Food saw its shares rally to the daily limit of 10% for a second day on Tuesday before trimming gains. Daily sales from a live broadcast on Douyin — China’s version of TikTok — surged from as little as 2500 yuan ($346) on May 3 to at least 1 million yuan on May 5, according to data from third-party platform Feigua. 

The jump in sales coincided with online reports that the instant milktea producer featured anti-Japan slogans on the packaging of some fruit tea products sold there. 

Xiangpiaopiao didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from Bloomberg News seeking clarification on the packaging reports. In a May 4 post on its official Weibo account, after the reports emerged, the company said, “Good job to our staff!” without being more specific. 

Read: Why Japan Is Releasing Fukushima Water Into the Sea: QuickTake

The episode may underscore the lingering animosity toward Japan in China. Bilateral ties have been gripped by periodic flareups of anti-Japanese sentiment over territorial and historical disputes. 

Last year saw Beijing’s ire centered on a decision by a Japanese utility to begin releasing treated and weakly radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking Chinese boycotts of Japanese seafood. Such discharges are common practice in the nuclear power industry, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has said the release is in line with guidelines.

Earlier this year, Chinese beverage giant Nongfu Spring Co. came under fire from the mainland’s online army of nationalist citizens, who argued, among other allegations, that Nongfu Spring’s packaging has elements that can be associated with Japan. 

--With assistance from Kelly Li.

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