Sino-Japanese exchange events canceled amid ‘travel advisory’ – Impact on tourism industry emerging

Following the Chinese government’s travel advisory against Japan, a series of bilateral exchange events and visits between the two countries have been consecutively canceled, highlighting the tangible impact of Beijing’s directive.

According to Japanese media on November 18, Xuzhou City in Jiangsu Province, China, informed Japan’s Aichi Prefecture on the 15th that its scheduled visit on the 18th would be postponed. While no specific reason was given, the move is interpreted as a response to growing domestic backlash in China following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks suggesting Japan could intervene in the event of a Taiwan contingency, coinciding with the travel advisory.

Since 1993, Xuzhou has maintained exchange programs with Handa City. In addition to this postponement, Nonoichi City in Ishikawa Prefecture also reported the sudden rescheduling of a visit from a Chinese school delegation from Shenzhen the day before.

Moreover, the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka informed Japanese authorities of the cancellation of the “8th West Japan Sino-Japanese Friendship Exchange Conference” scheduled in Hiroshima on the 21st. Consul General Xue Jian had recently criticized Prime Minister Takaichi’s remarks on X (formerly Twitter), accusing certain Japanese politicians of taking a “dangerous path,” though the post was later deleted.

The travel industry has also been directly affected. Asahi Shimbun reported that Japanese travel agency RCC, which mainly handles Chinese group tours, canceled about 30 corporate visits planned from late November to early December, and nine preliminary study-abroad visits scheduled for January–February next year.

Following the advisory, the Chinese government has also urged caution regarding studying in Japan. Kansai-area universities have reportedly received repeated cancellations from Chinese students for short-term programs originally scheduled to begin in December, according to Asahi Shimbun.

Earlier, after the announcement of the travel advisory, major Chinese airlines allowed free cancellations for flights to Japan, and large travel agencies began halting the sale of Japan tour packages, accelerating the impact.