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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/18/chinese-travellers-estimated-to-have-cancelled-500000-flights-to-japan-amid-rising-tensions>
"Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of
tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural
exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues.
Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to
Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae
Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to
invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued
warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan.
At least seven Chinese airlines, including the three state carriers, said they
would offer free cancellations to travellers with flights booked to the
country.
One air travel analyst, Hanming Li, said departure data suggested about 500,000
flight tickets to Japan had been cancelled between 15 and 17 November.
The Chinese outlet
Jimu News reported that Sichuan Airlines had cancelled all
flights between Chengdu and Sapporo from January until late March, and the
budget carrier Spring Airlines had cancelled “multiple” Japan flights. Both
airlines cited “company planning reasons”.
China is the second largest source of tourists to Japan, and its students form
the bulk of Japan’s international student cohort. Shares in Japanese retail and
travel companies slumped on Monday in response to the measures.
Li told the
Guardian it was the largest mass cancellation of flights he had
seen since early in the Covid pandemic but would probably have little impact on
China’s domestic industry.
“It is not a huge loss for airlines because the Sino-Japan market is small when
comparing to the whole domestic and international market,” Li said.
The travel cancellations are among a growing list of economic countermeasures
after what had until Sunday been mostly a rhetorical reaction.
An operator at one Chinese travel agency said it had stopped processing
individual visa applications for Chinese people travelling to Japan, and other
reports noted some local-level Japan-China cross-cultural events had been
cancelled."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
