Simalakama Threat to PM Takaichi, Number of Chinese Tourists to Japan Drops 60.7 Percent
JAKARTA - The Japan National Tourism Organization recorded a 60.7 percent drop in the number of mainland Chinese tourists to Japan in January 2026 compared to the previous year.
The data of the Japanese National Tourism Organization published on Wednesday, February 18, is based on the continuing impact of the China-Japan diplomatic dispute.
"Last year, Chinese New Year started in late January, but this year it falls in mid-February," the organization wrote in its statement.
"In addition, the Chinese government issued a warning advising against traveling to Japan. Factors such as reduced flight frequencies also contributed to the decline in the number of foreign tourists to Japan below the same month last year," the statement continued, quoted from AFP.
Previously, Chinese tourists' visits to Japan were the highest, contributing to a tourism boom in the Sakura and Fuji Mountain countries in particular, including due to the weak yen so that shopping is cheap.
But in January this year, South Korean tourists became Japan's largest source with 1.2 million arrivals, up 21.6 percent, compared with 385,300 from mainland China, down from 980,520 in January 2025.
Visitors from Hong Kong also fell 17.9 percent.
Overall, the number of visitors to Japan fell 4.9 percent to 3.597 million in January 2026 compared with the same period last year.
In November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Sanae Takaichi after being inaugurated hinted at the threat that Japan would intervene militarily if China attempted to seize Taiwan by force.
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and does not rule out the possibility of using force to annex it, is furious.
China summoned the Japanese ambassador and on November 14 warned Chinese citizens not to visit Japan, citing "significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens."
The number of Chinese visitors to Japan began to decline by 45 percent in December 2025 to 330,000 tourists.