[Beijing Diary] Selling Anti-Japan Sentiment

"Japanese politicians should drink radioactive contaminated water."

This phrase was found on a beverage cup sleeve (packaging band) sold in China and Japan on the 4th. The manufacturer is the Chinese beverage company Xiangpiaopiao (香飄飄). There is no need to read too deeply into the meaning of the phrase. It simply reflects the backlash within Chinese society against the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan, directly on the product packaging.

The sleeve was independently planned and produced by an employee of Xiangpiaopiao, who reportedly attached such sleeves to some products and even displayed them in Japan. The news quickly spread through social media (SNS) and received enthusiastic support among Chinese consumers. During live broadcast sales on the 4th and 5th, three out of six similar beverage products from the company sold out. Sales surged from the usual 2,500 yuan (about 470,000 KRW) to 1 million yuan, a 400-fold increase.

Photo source= Chinese Weibo

The company's stock price soared to the daily limit of 19.21 yuan on the 6th. This was the result of national dissatisfaction with the contaminated water, the employee’s radical action, and the company’s swift marketing response. Afterwards, photos appeared on SNS showing company officials holding banners welcoming the return of the “warriors” who planned the incident ("Xiangpiaopiao welcomes the return of the warriors") as they saw them off on their departure to Japan, along with news that they were awarded a bonus of 100,000 yuan (about 19 million KRW). In various online posts, these employees were described as “heroes,” and Xiangpiaopiao’s stock price rose further to 21.13 yuan on the 7th.

However, the situation began to reverse after this peak. Once again, suspicions arose on SNS that the events over several days were a deliberate patriotic marketing stunt. Contrary to initial reports, it was discovered that products with the same sleeves were not distributed in Japan but only sold in China. Additionally, some pointed out that products displayed in the back did not have sleeves, suggesting the sleeves were used only briefly for photo shoots rather than for sale. Especially, a store official from the Japanese retailer initially reported to have sold the product officially denied selling beverages with such sleeves, worsening public opinion. The stock price fell back to 18.44 yuan on the 8th and 18.09 yuan on the 9th.

Even Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times known for his strong nationalist stance, turned against the incident. He criticized on his SNS, saying, "Such acts that mock and exploit the public’s naive patriotism for consumption should not be encouraged."

China’s patriotic marketing has written an undefeated legend for years. A similar precedent was the dizzying downfall of the beverage company Nongfu Spring, which suffered a boycott after being branded as pro-Japanese. However, Xiangpiaopiao’s crude and sloppy anti-Japanese marketing seems likely to end in vain. What is noteworthy is that amid this incident, Xiangpiaopiao newly established an internet product sales and marketing company (100% owned). It remains to be seen whether this indicates their intention to conduct more sophisticated and plausible marketing through this new company in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.