In a dramatic turn of events, one of Asia’s busiest travel corridors has been brought to a near standstill following a wave of cancellations sparked by a Chinese government travel advisory urging citizens to avoid Japan. The advisory, issued in mid-November 2025, came in response to statements from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding potential military involvement in Taiwan—a flashpoint that has long strained relations between China and Japan.
Within just three days of the advisory, Chinese travelers cancelled approximately 500,000 flight tickets to Japan, according to data cited by independent aviation analyst Li Hanming and reported by multiple outlets. That staggering number represents about 32% of all bookings to the popular destination, marking the largest mass flight cancellation between the two countries since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The flight-ticket cancellations [on Sunday] were 27 times that of new bookings, which shows safety concerns are the dominating factor for travel," Li told the press. He emphasized that he hadn’t seen cancellations on this scale since early 2020, when the pandemic first disrupted global travel.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s advisory, issued on November 14, cited “significant risks” and a deteriorating security environment for Chinese nationals in Japan. The warning referenced recent incidents involving Chinese visitors and described an “increasingly unfavorable atmosphere” in the wake of Japan’s political statements on Taiwan. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism quickly followed suit, amplifying the caution to students and travelers alike.
Chinese airlines and travel agencies responded almost immediately. At least seven airlines, including the three state-run giants—China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China—offered free cancellations and full refunds for Japan-bound flights booked until December 31. Sichuan Airlines cancelled all flights between Chengdu and Sapporo from January to late March 2026, while Spring Airlines suspended multiple Japan-bound flights, citing “company planning reasons.” The percentage of affected flights skyrocketed to 82.14% on the Sunday after the advisory, and remained at a staggering 75.6% the following day, according to Li’s data covering all mainland China-based airlines.
Chinese travel agencies, meanwhile, began removing Japan travel options from their booking platforms. One major state-owned tourism company halted all Japan-related bookings, and a Beijing-based agency stopped accepting new reservations altogether. Some agencies even paused processing individual visa applications for Japanese travel, while others, holding out hope for a quick resolution, continued to operate tours as normal—at least for the time being.
The impact wasn’t limited to travel alone. The cultural fallout was swift, with Chinese film distributors indefinitely postponing screenings of Japanese movies. State media reported that box office receipts for the Japanese animation "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" slumped, attributing the decline to “strong dissatisfaction from Chinese audiences” over the Japanese Prime Minister’s Taiwan comments.
The economic consequences for Japan have been immediate and severe. The Japanese tourism industry, which counts Chinese visitors as its largest international market, was rocked by the cancellations. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, nearly 7.5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, spending more than a billion dollars a month in the third quarter and accounting for almost 30% of all tourist spending, according to Japanese government figures. Tourism and retail shares on the Japanese stock market plummeted on November 17 and 18, as investors digested the likely fallout. Companies in sectors like cosmetics, department stores, airlines, and sportswear saw their values drop, reflecting fears of a prolonged downturn in consumer traffic.
The broader economic impact is also significant. A prominent Japanese research institute estimated that the absence of Chinese visitors could reduce Japan’s GDP by about 0.36%—a hit equivalent to roughly two trillion Japanese yen. The blow extends beyond tourism, affecting retail sales, cultural exchanges, and even educational ties; Chinese students, estimated at around 120,000, form the bulk of Japan’s international student cohort and represent another area of potential disruption if tensions persist.
Japanese business leaders wasted no time in voicing their concerns. Yoshinobu Tsutsui, head of the influential business lobby Keidanren, urged caution and called for political stability, warning that economic exchange depends on a steady diplomatic footing. "The importance of political stability for economic exchange cannot be overstated," he said, echoing the worries of many in Japan’s business community.
While Beijing’s advisory cited multiple cases of assaults on Chinese nationals in Japan as evidence of a deteriorating security environment, travel safety experts have pointed out that Japan remains one of the world’s safest destinations, with crime rates far below those of most major tourist hotspots. Some analysts suggest that the warnings are driven more by political motivations than by a genuine uptick in safety threats, noting that the advisory’s reference to isolated incidents may have been used to reinforce the government’s diplomatic stance.
The shockwaves from the travel ban have reverberated across the region. With Japan off the table, Chinese travelers have turned to alternative destinations, fueling a surge in bookings for South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Booking platforms reported noticeable spikes in reservations for these countries, and airlines and travel agencies quickly adjusted their offerings to meet the redirected demand. For South Korea in particular, the influx of Chinese tourists has been a welcome boost, helping to offset some of the regional economic turbulence caused by the diplomatic spat.
For Japan, the long-term outlook remains uncertain. The tourism and retail sectors—so heavily dependent on Chinese spending—are bracing for a challenging period ahead. The full extent of the damage will depend on how long the travel advisories remain in effect and whether diplomatic relations between China and Japan can be stabilized. As one travel industry insider put it, "The situation underscores how quickly geopolitical tensions can reshape global travel patterns, turning routine vacation planning into a diplomatic flashpoint with far-reaching economic consequences."
As governments, airlines, and travel agencies across Asia scramble to adapt, the fate of one of the world’s most important travel corridors hangs in the balance. The coming months will reveal whether this crisis is a temporary setback or the beginning of a more profound realignment in Asian tourism and economic relations.
