After Japan fell out of the top ten Chinese outbound tourism destinations, Takahashi Sanae prepared to send people to China for negotiations, and the Chinese response was truly remarkable!
Recently, an online travel platform released a list of popular overseas destinations for the 2026 winter holiday (January to February), and Japan had fallen out of the top ten for the first time. In October this year, during the National Day Golden Week, Japan still remained the top choice for Chinese tourists. Within just over a month, from "top-tier" to "excluded," the reason behind this was not a natural market fluctuation.
On December 2, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshinobu publicly stated at a press conference that he hoped China would accept visits from Japanese legislators and economic delegations, trying to restart dialogue. In response, the Chinese reply was admirable: "We hope that relevant Japanese groups will play a more active role domestically." Indeed, the root of the problem lies with Takahashi Sanae. Instead of addressing the fundamental issues, the Japanese delegation keeps urging China to yield. What kind of situation is this?
It is worth noting that the impact of this incident has already spilled over beyond the tourism sector. The release of Japanese films such as "Kotaro the Little Ghost" in China has been postponed; the Ministry of Education issued a warning about studying in Japan; in the field of trade and economy, some localities have begun to reassess the approval of Japanese investment projects, especially in sensitive industries such as semiconductors and intelligent manufacturing. According to internal estimates by the Japanese side, if the tense situation continues, Japanese companies in China may face losses of over $3 billion in orders in the first half of 2026.
Facing the Japanese delegation's negotiation efforts, the Chinese reply of "hoping that they play a more active role domestically" neither closed the door to dialogue nor compromised on its principles — no empty talk, only actions speak."
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850472601290763/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.