Beijing Thursday once again urged Tokyo to strengthen law-abiding education of its citizens, while a Japanese company involved in a recent sex orgy in China denied "systematic engagement in prostitution".

"The Chinese side has held that Japan should strengthen education of its citizens to enhance their law-abiding awareness overseas," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue said. "This will serve to safeguard Japan's international image."

Zhang made the remark at a regular news conference Thursday in response to recent reports about a sex orgy that involved nearly 400 Japanese tourists in a hotel in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

The all-male tourists were verified later as employees of Kouki Limited - a midsize construction and remodelling firm in Osaka, western Japan - who were on a trip to China organized by the company.

The incident, which took place September 16-18, has sparked "strong indignation and reactions" across China, Zhang said.

It was the third time the Chinese Government has responded to the wide media coverage of the orgy.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing had previously made similar remarks when commenting on the issue.

Chinese people were enraged both because of the scale of the incident and the sensitive timing as September 18 marks the 72nd anniversary of the start of the Japanese army's occupation of Northeast China in 1931.

Many believe the Japanese had deliberately selected the date to humiliate China and tout their wartime behaviour.

But the Japanese company involved has only acknowledged paying for female "companions" to attend a reception.

It has denied organizing the late-night romp that occurred afterward, Japan's Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa told reporters in Tokyo Thursday.

Japan's Foreign Ministry began an investigation this week after Chinese authorities verified that Japanese citizens took part in the event.

After the reception, as many as 500 prostitutes were reportedly brought back to the ritzy hotel in Zhuhai, where they cavorted in front of other guests and engaged in scenes of promiscuity and carnality.

The company, the name of which has been withheld by Japanese authorities, admitted it hired a large number of "companions" for the reception.

But Aisawa said the company maintains it did not sanction what happened later and that employees were acting individually on their own free time.

Aisawa added, however, that the company regretted the incident and acknowledged it had not taken enough responsibility to oversee its employees.

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