Chinese Tourists Ditch Japan for Third Month Running
Friday, 2026/03/27244 words4 minutes923 reads
Chinese visitor arrivals to Japan plummeted 45.2 percent in February compared to the previous year, according to official data released Wednesday, representing the third consecutive month of decline amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
Historically, Chinese travelers constituted Japan's largest tourist demographic, fueling a tourism boom centered around iconic attractions such as cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, with the weak yen making shopping particularly attractive. However, South Korea has now supplanted China as the primary source of visitors, with arrivals surging 28.2 percent to 1.1 million in February, while mainland Chinese visitors numbered merely 396,400. Notably, 18 countries and regions established new records for visitor numbers to Japan in February, including South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
The deterioration in bilateral relations stems from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's November remarks suggesting potential Japanese military intervention should China attempt to annex Taiwan. China, which regards the democratic island as an inalienable part of its territory and has not ruled out forcible reunification, reacted with fury, summoning Tokyo's ambassador and issuing travel warnings to its citizens. Consequently, Chinese tourists have redirected their travel to alternative destinations, with South Korea receiving 418,703 Chinese visitors in January and Thailand experiencing a 4.24 percent increase during the January-February period. Despite the approaching cherry blossom season, typically a peak tourism period, local media reports suggest the decline in Chinese visitors will persist, with some Tokyo Bay hotels reporting a 50 percent reduction in Chinese guests since November.
