Traveler numbers decline following PM's erroneous remarks on Taiwan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan are sending shock waves across Japan's service sectors, which could potentially further drag down its economy, experts said.

The Japan Association of Travel Agents, or JATA, told China Daily on Tuesday that several of its member companies catering to Chinese tourists have reported a clear impact, with cancellations mainly affecting educational trips and corporate group tours.

JATA also said new inquiries, and bookings at its partner travel agencies are currently suspended, and the association will continue to closely monitor developments.

READ MORE: Japan's tourism sector braces for winter chill

The decline in Chinese outbound travel to Japan has accelerated following travel alerts issued by several Chinese ministries, which advised citizens to temporarily postpone trips to Japan due to "an increase in crimes targeting Chinese nationals in Japan, as well as extreme and threatening remarks targeting China from Japanese right-wing provocateurs and internet users".

Major Chinese airlines have offered free refunds and rescheduling options for flights to Japan booked before Dec 31.

According to the latest data from the online flight tracker DAST, as of 10 am on Monday, all flights on 12 China-Japan routes have been canceled. Over 540,000 tickets to Japan have been canceled since Nov 15, according to a report by China Central Television.

"We have seen many individual and group tourists who had planned to visit Japan in the near future change their itineraries, and some business delegations have also put their trips on hold," said Ouyang An, director of the China National Tourist Office in Tokyo.

The Japan External Trade Organization reported that all 24 of its events in China have been canceled as of Nov 20, following tensions in China-Japan relations sparked by Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan.

Yangchoon Kwak, a senior professor at the College of Economics at Rikkyo University in Japan, said the decline in the number of Chinese tourists to Japan has significantly impacted tourism revenue.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, foreign visitors to Japan reached a record 31.65 million in the first nine months of the year, with Chinese tourists accounting for roughly one-quarter of all arrivals, making them the largest group of visitors.

Kwak said that in the short term, industries, including tourism, retail, hotels, and restaurants, are likely to see immediate sales declines.

The rising tensions in Japan-China relations could bring additional shock to the Japanese economy and further increase the risk of stagflation, with notable effects on tourism, trade, and exchange rates, Kwak said.

Kwak warned that in the medium to long term, if trust in trade and investment with China continues to decline, corporate capital investment and export strategies may be affected, mounting sustained downward pressure on Japan's economic growth.

Chinese tourists were the top spenders among foreign visitors to Japan from July to September, contributing 27.7 percent of the total 2.13 trillion yen ($13.7 billion) spent, equivalent to 590.1 billion yen, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

Downward pressure

The agency also reported that more than 30 percent of Chinese tourists' travel expenses go toward shopping. High-end products such as luxury handbags, jewelry, and cosmetics have long been popular among visitors in Japanese department stores.

According to Nikkei Asia, department store operator Takashimaya reported that Chinese customers accounted for more than 50 percent of its duty-free sales between March and August. Matsuzakaya, which operates a department store in the popular Tokyo shopping district of Ginza, also said Chinese shoppers made up over 60 percent of its tax-free sales.

ALSO READ: Japan's tourism battered as travelers cancel trips

Japan's film and performance sectors are also feeling the chill.

The releases of at least two popular Japanese films, Cells at Work! and Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, have been postponed in China, due to "a prudent decision based on market performance and audience sentiment", according to China Central Television. Meanwhile, several Japanese performers have recently canceled or postponed their China performances.

China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday in Beijing that recent exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan have been affected by Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan, which have gravely hurt the sentiments of the Chinese people and poisoned the atmosphere for exchanges.

Contact the writers at houjunjie@chinadaily.com.cn