Japan's tourism landscape reshaped, mainland visitors plummet by 45%, tourists say street traffic is still high with "many Eastern Europeans, South Americans, and Indians"

Last year, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks about "Taiwan's situation," which strained relations between China and Japan and quickly spread to the tourism industry. With the mainland authorities issuing safety warnings and a large-scale suspension of flights, the once-crowded streets of Japan with mainland tourists are now seeing a significant decline. A traveler to Japan, Mr. Chen (pseudonym), told Sing Tao Daily that after returning to Osaka for tourism a year later, popular attractions and restaurants that were once crazily recommended by YouTubers and crowded with people have now seen a drastic decrease in visitors. The most noticeable change on the streets is the almost complete absence of mainland tourists, replaced instead by large numbers of travelers from India, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. According to official Japanese data, in the first nine months of 2025, the number of Chinese tourists reached nearly 7.5 million, accounting for about a quarter of all foreign tourists. In the third quarter, the consumption amount even reached 3.7 billion USD, making it the largest source of tourism for Japan. However, since December of last year, the situation has reversed, with the number of Chinese tourists dropping by about 45% compared to the same period two years ago, falling to about 330,000. Tourists: Some shopping malls are quite deserted Mr. Chen revealed that as soon as he got off the plane, he rushed to the Timeout Market, which had just opened last year and was heavily promoted by many YouTubers, but found the mall quite deserted, with only a few Japanese and foreigners, and the staff were chatting idly. The same scene was observed at the Lalaport mall, where the "Kuromon Market" food area, which had long lines when it first opened, now had no one in line, and many shops had already closed down. As for Osaka's most iconic tourist spot, Shinsaibashi, although the foot traffic is still bustling, the traveler noticed that the scene of mainland tourists clustering together was nowhere to be seen. Instead, they were replaced by large numbers of Indians, Koreans, Hong Kongers, Southeast Asians, as well as non-traditional European and American tourists from Eastern Europe and South America. Even the entry and exit experience has changed; "It used to take an hour to queue," but now passing through customs is very smooth, indicating a decrease in tourists visiting Japan. Mainland tourists turn to South Korea, Thailand, and other destinations Additionally, on the mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu, posts asking "Can we still go to Japan?" have appeared. Some Xiaohongshu influencers analyzed that the current situation in Japan is quite complex, firstly due to a weak economy, which is said to be inferior to South Korea. Moreover, a large influx of foreign workers from Nepal, India, and other countries into the service industry has led to a noticeable decline in service levels. At the same time, recent rising xenophobic sentiments in Japanese society have been noted. The influencer bluntly stated, "The fact that such an abstract prime minister can be elected shows the general public opinion. If it’s just for those who used to visit often, we are not doing purchasing on behalf of others, so there’s no need to increase potential troubles for ourselves." In this atmosphere, many mainland tourists are turning their attention to South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and other places. The influencer stated that South Korea is the first choice for overseas travel. They believe that although South Korea is small, a bit boring, and has limited food variety, its visa process is extremely convenient, flights are cheap, Chinese signage is common, shopping is inexpensive, and hygiene conditions are good, making it the easiest option overall. 100% suspension of flights on China-Japan routes Behind this change is the escalating bilateral tensions between China and Japan. Before the Qingming holiday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a warning urging Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan recently. On March 26, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned that recently, social security in Japan has been unstable, with a high incidence of criminal cases involving Chinese citizens, and the safety environment faced by Chinese citizens in Japan continues to deteriorate On March 24, an active-duty officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces forcibly broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife, seriously threatening the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic facilities, with extremely adverse implications, and calling on Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future. In fact, since the end of last year, the number of flights between China and Japan has been significantly reduced. According to statistics from Flight Butler, in January 2026, the number of canceled flights from mainland China to Japan reached 2,195, with a cancellation rate of 40.4%; as of January 26, 49 routes between China and Japan had completely canceled all flights for February, with a cancellation rate as high as 100%. Major airlines such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines have significantly reduced capacity, with Kansai International Airport, primarily serving leisure travelers, being the most severely affected, becoming a disaster area for flight cancellations