Japanese Media: Takashi's Remarks Lead to Sharp Decline in Tourism Between China and Japan

As reported by Japan's Kyodo News on May 30: While the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan has sharply declined, Japanese travel to China has also significantly decreased. This is believed to be due to deteriorating relations between the two countries following Saeko Takashi's remarks in November 2025 regarding a "Taiwan emergency situation."

A representative from a major Japanese travel agency specializing in the Chinese market revealed: "Due to a sharp increase in canceled flights, cross-border flight services between China and Japan have been reduced, causing a 90% drop in Japanese travelers heading to China." Tourism fosters mutual understanding among nations, but the substantial decline in Chinese visitors to Japan has inflicted a double blow.

"This is influenced by reduced flight schedules, declining enthusiasm for traveling to China, rising fuel costs due to worsening Middle East tensions, and insufficient seat availability on flights."

A staff member from the China division of a large Japanese travel agency sighed while speaking: "By 2025, the number of Japanese tourists visiting China had only recovered to half of the pre-pandemic 2019 levels. We tried expanding our product offerings, but then relations began to deteriorate."

Starting in November 2025, half of all scheduled performances by Japanese entertainment groups in Shanghai were canceled. Even when bookings were made, tour groups could be abruptly canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, resulting in a 70% decrease in Japanese visitors to China compared to last year.

In March 2026, 2,691 round-trip flights between China and Japan were canceled—representing approximately a 50% cancellation rate.

Meanwhile, Japanese-language tour guides working at tourist attractions in China are now facing income reduction and potential unemployment.

Currently, all direct flights to Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, have been suspended. Xi'an is globally renowned for its World Heritage site, the Terracotta Warriors, which attracted many Japanese tourists.

A 57-year-old male Japanese guide with 30 years of experience expressed disappointment: "I didn’t receive a single Japanese visitor this year." It is reported that a planned study trip for Japanese high school students to China, originally scheduled for April, was also canceled.

A male tour guide in Beijing added: "Since March, there have been almost no Japanese tourists."

Japanese tourists used to rank among the top foreign visitor groups in China.

Both Chinese and Japanese tourism industry players hope bilateral relations will improve soon and flights will resume as soon as possible.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866589791723529/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.