China-Japan Tensions Lead to Sharp Drop in Flights: Number of China-to-Japan Flights Down 48% This Month

Yonhap News Agency

The number of flights from China to Japan has dropped to about half of previous levels after China issued a travel advisory against visiting Japan in response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about possible intervention in the event of a Taiwan contingency.

According to Yonhap News Agency and other foreign media, on November 14 of last year, when the Chinese government advised its citizens to refrain from visiting Japan, there were 5,747 flights from China to Japan. As of January 5 of this year, the number had fallen to 3,010, a 48% decrease.

As flight routes between China and Japan have continued to shrink, all flights from China have disappeared from ten airports in Japan, including Sendai, Ibaraki, Niigata, Toyama, and Kobe.

At Osaka Kansai International Airport, the number of flights from China dropped from 2,355 in November last year to 888 this month, a decrease of 62%. The number of Chinese airports with direct flights to Kansai also fell from 29 to 14.

In contrast, the decline at airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area was relatively limited. The number of flights from China to Tokyo Haneda Airport decreased slightly from 991 to 957, while flights to Narita Airport fell from 1,185 to 778.

With the decrease in Chinese tourists, ticket prices for China-Japan routes have also dropped significantly. According to AirPlus, a travel website operator, the price of tickets on Chinese airlines for the Shanghai-Kansai route this month fell to 8,000 yen (approximately 75,000 won), a 68% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Japan reiterated its travel advisory the previous day, stating that a Chinese national was attacked with tear gas near Ueno in Tokyo.

Chinese airlines recently announced that they will extend the period for free refunds and itinerary changes for tickets on Japan routes, which were implemented when the travel advisory was first issued, until the end of October this year.

Market research firm China Trading Desk forecasts that the number of Chinese visitors to Japan during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday period starting February 15 will decrease by about 60% compared to last year.