Chinese Airlines Eases Japan Cancellations After New Travel Warning

(JAPAN) Chinese airlines moved quickly this week to offer free cancellations and no‑fee changes on Japan‑bound flights after Beijing issued a rare travel advisory urging citizens to stay away from Japan, deepening the fallout from a sharp diplomatic clash over Taiwan that is already hitting tourism and education links between the two Asian powers.

Travel advisory and airline responses

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy in Japan released the advisory on 14 November 2025, warning Chinese nationals to avoid travel to Japan “in the near term” because of what officials called worsening security conditions and rising political tension.

Within forty‑eight hours, eight major Chinese carriers announced that passengers booked to Japan could cancel or change tickets at no cost through the end of the year — an unusually broad response that underlines how seriously airlines are treating the warning.

• Airlines granting waivers:
  • Air China
  • China Southern Airlines
  • China Eastern Airlines
  • Hainan Airlines
  • Sichuan Airlines
  • Xiamen Airlines
  • Shenzhen Airlines
  • Spring Airlines

According to industry data cited by Chinese media, these carriers have already logged about 491,000 ticket cancellations for Japan routes since Saturday, equal to roughly 32 percent of their total bookings to the country. Flight‑tracking figures show that 1,189 flights operated in the week ending 9 November, which was already 14.5 percent fewer than just five weeks earlier — suggesting demand was softening even before the official travel warning.

Impact on travelers and tour operators

For many Chinese travelers, the combination of the travel advisory and the option of free cancellations has shifted plans almost overnight.

Families who had booked winter holidays in Tokyo, Osaka, or Hokkaido are now calling travel agents to ask if they should still go. Tour organizers say group tours are being postponed, even when trips are scheduled several months away, because clients fear further diplomatic friction could lead to tougher rules or a sudden rise in anti‑Chinese sentiment on the ground.

“We had just started to feel normal again after the pandemic. Now we’re hearing that groups might cancel next week because of the travel advisory and the news about Taiwan. People are worried this could last a long time,” said a hotel manager in Osaka who has hosted Chinese group tours for more than a decade.

Diplomatic background and official reactions

Beijing’s warning followed comments by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in early November, when she said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be treated as an “existential threat situation” under Japanese law. That classification would allow Japan’s Self‑Defense Forces to use force even if Japan were not directly attacked.

Chinese officials reacted sharply, accusing Tokyo of “hyping the China threat” and interfering in what Beijing considers an internal matter. The Chinese government demanded that Japan “correct and retract those hostile statements”, summoning Japan’s ambassador in Beijing to lodge a formal protest.

Tokyo responded in kind, summoning China’s ambassador and stressing that Japan’s security policy is driven by its own law and by regional conditions, including rising military activity around Taiwan. On 15 November, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters that Tokyo had “strongly conveyed” its views to China and repeated that communication channels between the two governments must stay open.

Japanese officials did not publicly criticize the Chinese travel advisory, but privately expressed concern that politics was spilling over into people‑to‑people exchanges that had only recently recovered from the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Economic effects: tourism, retail, hotels

The stakes for Japan’s tourism sector are high. China has become one of the most important sources of visitors to Japan’s cities and resort towns.

• 2024: Chinese travelers made 6.98 million trips to Japan, out of 36.87 million total overseas arrivals — making China the second‑largest market.
• First nine months of 2025: Visits from China had already reached close to 7.5 million, according to industry data.

Many regional airports, shopping streets, and ski resorts now depend on Chinese group tours and high‑spending individual visitors for a large slice of their income.

Financial markets reacted quickly to the advisory. On Monday, 17 November 2025, shares in Japanese retail chains, duty‑free operators, and travel‑related firms slid sharply as investors tried to gauge how deep the cuts in Chinese demand might be.

• Department stores reported a sudden drop in new bookings from tour agencies in Beijing and Shanghai.
• Hotel operators warned that while individual cancellations were visible, the real blow could come if large group tours, booked months in advance, start to pull out.

Effects on education and students

There are clear ripple effects for education as well. China’s Ministry of Education issued a study‑abroad alert on 16 November 2025, telling students to be cautious when planning to study in Japan and to pay close attention to their personal safety if they are already there.

• The warning affects around 140,000 Chinese students in Japan, many attending language schools or university programs that rely heavily on Chinese enrollment.
• School administrators worry that new applicants for the April 2026 intake may decide on other destinations such as the 🇺🇸 United States or 🇨🇦 Canada if parents feel Japan has become politically sensitive.

Counselors at language schools report that some students are asking whether they should bring forward graduation plans or apply for programs in other countries next year, rather than risk becoming stuck in a worsening political climate.

Airlines and travel industry in Japan

So far, Japanese airlines have reported a calmer picture than their Chinese counterparts.

• All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines both said they had seen no major cancellations from Chinese customers as of Saturday.
• Low‑cost carrier Spring Japan reported that reservations remained steady.

Analysts note this difference largely reflects the fact that most of the free cancellations are tied to tickets issued in China. Some travelers may still be waiting to see whether the political storm fades before their departure date.

Travel industry workers in Japan say they are caught between the diplomatic dispute and the everyday realities of running hotels, restaurants, and tour buses. Staff in affected businesses are already asking if their hours will be cut.

Safety guidance and official information

The Chinese travel advisory stops short of a full ban, but its language is strong. Many travelers see the offer of free cancellations as a signal that airlines expect lower demand for weeks, if not months.

At the same time, Japan has not issued any new restrictions on Chinese citizens, and its own foreign ministry continues to stress that the country remains open to tourists and students.

Official safety and security information for foreign travelers is still available through the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ overseas safety page:

• Japan MOFA Overseas Safety Information

Analysis and longer‑term implications

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the episode highlights how quickly political statements about security can affect cross‑border mobility, even without any formal visa changes.

• The legal rules for Chinese tourists entering Japan have not changed in recent days, but behavior is shifting due to:
  • Risk perception
  • Social media debates
  • The practical reality that carriers are making it easy to withdraw by offering free cancellations and fee‑free itinerary changes

Tourism lawyers say airlines can absorb short‑term revenue losses to comply with government advice and preserve customer trust, but extended warnings could trigger route cuts or reduced frequencies on Japan–China services.

The situation also raises questions for employers and universities that rely on Chinese nationals already in Japan. While the travel advisory focuses on new trips, some Chinese residents now worry about leaving Japan for short visits home in case future diplomatic friction leads to tighter reentry rules or more hostile public attitudes.

Immigration authorities in Japan have not announced any policy changes related to Chinese visitors or students, and existing residence and work permissions remain in force.

Diplomatic tone and outlook

Diplomats on both sides insist that channels remain open. Chinese officials say their first duty is to protect citizens abroad and argue that their travel advisory simply reflects what they describe as rising anti‑China rhetoric in parts of Japanese politics.

Japanese officials counter that comments about Taiwan are tied to national defense planning and that Japan continues to welcome visitors, including from China.

For now, ordinary travelers, students, hotel staff, and small business owners are adjusting plans day by day — watching whether early cancellations are the start of a brief chill or the beginning of a deeper freeze in one of Asia’s most important travel corridors.