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Rising diplomatic tensions between China and Japan have led to a sharp reduction in flights, dealing a blow to Japanese airports and tourism.
According to Nikkei Asia on November 29, Chinese airlines are set to cancel more than 900 flights to Japan in December. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that there are currently 176 scheduled routes between China and Japan, connecting 20 Japanese airports with 36 airports in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).
As of the morning of November 27, Chinese carriers had already canceled 904 flights across 72 routes, accounting for 16% of the originally scheduled 5,548 flights — equivalent to approximately 156,000 seats. This marks a significant jump from the 268 cancellations reported just two days earlier.
Among the 13 affected airports in Japan, Kansai International Airport suffered the heaviest losses, with 626 inbound flights canceled — including 80 from Nanjing, 71 from Shanghai, and 58 from Beijing. Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Chubu Centrair Airport near Nagoya each saw 68 cancellations, followed by New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido (61) and Naha Airport in Okinawa (26). Tokyo’s Haneda Airport remained relatively unaffected, with only 7 cancellations out of 989 scheduled inbound flights.
China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines canceled 118 and 109 flights respectively. Shanghai-based budget carriers were hit even harder: Spring Airlines canceled 182 flights, and Juneyao Air canceled 166.
▲A China Southern Airlines flight bound for Japan (File photo)
The drop in demand has also pushed down ticket prices. According to a Japanese low-cost flight comparison site, round-trip fares between Kansai and Shanghai fell from around ¥20,000 (approx. $130) last year to about ¥8,500 this December.
The outlook remains uncertain. The president of Narita International Airport Corporation said on November 27 that Chinese airlines had informed them of planned cuts starting mainly in December, predicting that 10–20% of the nearly 300 weekly flights between Narita and China’s mainland could be canceled.
The decline in travel is also worrying Japanese businesses reliant on Chinese tourists. A hotel in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, told Tokai TV that more than 1,000 Chinese guest reservations had been canceled between November 16 and 19.
A senior executive at a major Japanese financial institution noted on November 25 that the current tensions had not yet affected business, but warned that “if the dispute escalates further, sales activities could become difficult.”
Kanda Keiji, senior economist at Daiwa Institute of Research, told Nikkei Asia, “Future developments need close attention to see whether the Chinese government will play its next card.”
The cancellations follow official travel advisories issued by China. On November 14, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. Two days later, the Ministry of Education issued a study-abroad warning, advising students to carefully consider plans to study in Japan.
*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.*
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