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China Travel Advisory Causes 60% Drop in Chinese Tourists Visiting Japan in January

Chinese visitors to Japan dropped significantly in January after Beijing advised against traveling to Japan, causing total foreign arrivals to experience a year-over-year decline for the first time in four years.

As per data published by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on February 18, 385,300 Chinese tourists traveled to Japan in January. This represents a reduction of 595,220 compared to January of the previous year, when 980,520 Chinese visitors were counted — a decline of 60.7%.

The significant drop is commonly linked to a travel warning released by the Chinese government in November of last year, urging its citizens not to visit Japan. This action came after comments from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who mentioned potential involvement in case of a situation concerning Taiwan. In December, the number of Chinese tourists also decreased by 45.3% compared to the previous year.

Consequently, the total number of foreign visitors to Japan in January reached 3,597,500, representing a 4.9% decrease compared to the same period last year. As reported by NHK, this is the first annual decline in January foreign arrivals since January 2022, when the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were becoming more pronounced.

JNTO stated that multiple reasons led to the decline, such as the timing of China’s Spring Festival. Last year, the Lunar New Year started in late January, whereas this year it is scheduled for mid-February, which has lowered travel demand in January. The effect of the travel warning also contributed to this situation.

On the other hand, the number of visitors from South Korea increased substantially. A total of 1,176,000 South Koreans traveled to Japan in January, representing a 21.6% rise compared to the previous year and setting a new monthly record. South Korea contributed the highest proportion of foreign tourists in Japan during January, followed by Taiwan (694,500), China, the United States (207,800), and Hong Kong (200,000).

Written by Song Mi-joo