Political Strains Drive Steep Fall In Chinese Travel To Japan

Chinese tourist arrivals to Japan dropped sharply in January, deepening economic pressure on the country’s tourism and retail sectors amid rising political tensions with Beijing.

Visitors from China fell 61 percent from a year earlier, accelerating from December’s decline and triggering Japan’s first monthly drop in overall inbound tourism since pandemic restrictions were lifted, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The slump followed warnings from Beijing discouraging travel to Japan after comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan.

Chinese tourist arrivals to Japan plunge 41% in January amid simmering tensions https://t.co/AV30jISC1U

— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) February 18, 2026

Flight cancellations are expected to continue into early 2026. The decline pushed total foreign arrivals down 4.9 percent in January.

Chinese tourists accounted for roughly one fifth of Japan’s tourism revenue in 2025, making the impact especially severe for duty-free retailers and hotels.

While arrivals from South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States increased, they failed to offset the losses. Officials are now accelerating efforts to diversify visitor sources and reduce reliance on China.

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