Bangladeshi Student Leader Succumbs to Fatal Assassination Injuries, Triggering Violent Clashes in Dhaka

On November 17, a tour guide from a Chinese travel agency distributed duty-free shop leaflets to Chinese tourists in a group on the streets of Tokyo (AFP).

Japanese media reported that Chinese authorities have ordered domestic travel agencies to reduce the number of group tourists to Japan to 60% of the original level. The measure was initially supposed to be enforced until December but has since been extended until March next year.

Bangladeshi Student Leader Succumbs to Fatal Assassination Injuries, Triggering Violent Clashes in Dhaka

Japan Television reported on Thursday (December 25), citing multiple sources, that China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently summoned the heads of several major domestic travel agencies and issued a verbal instruction to cut the number of group tours to Japan to approximately 60% of the original level.

According to reports, the directive from Beijing currently only applies to group tours, with individual travel remaining unaffected.

Sources stated that when summoning the heads of major domestic travel agencies, the relevant Chinese authorities explicitly requested a gradual reduction in the number of group tourists to Japan and instructed the industry not to disclose the matter to the outside world. As a result, several Chinese travel agencies have reportedly suspended accepting bookings and related businesses for group tours to Japan one after another.

Market analysis suggests that this move is clearly an economic countermeasure against recent remarks made by Japanese politicians concerning Taiwan.

The report quoted an anonymous official as saying that Beijing expressed strong dissatisfaction with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan made in the Diet on November 7. In the past, Beijing has repeatedly called on the public to voluntarily reduce travel to Japan, but this time it directly issued a specific proportional restriction, indicating a significant escalation in the intensity of pressure.

Kyodo News quoted Chinese tourism industry insiders on Thursday as saying that relevant Chinese departments issued instructions to major domestic travel agencies in the second half of November, requiring them to reduce the number of group tours to Japan to 60% of the usual level on the grounds of deteriorating public security in Japan. The measure was initially expected to be implemented until December, but travel agencies were later asked to extend it until March next year.

Takaichi's remarks on a "Taiwan emergency" triggered tensions in Sino-Japanese relations. On November 14, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan recently. Since then, many travel agencies in Beijing and Shanghai have received requests to cancel group tours to Japan.

According to Kyodo News, several major Chinese travel agencies have suspended selling Japan tour packages since November 16. Citing independent aviation analysis data, AFP reported on November 18 that flight bookings from China to Japan plummeted from approximately 1.5 million on November 15 to 1 million two days later, with an estimated 500,000 trips canceled. Bloomberg reported that due to Chinese tourists canceling their trips to Japan, Japan may lose up to 1.2 billion US dollars (1.5 billion Singapore dollars) in tourist spending by the end of this year.