The CCP’s Boycott of Travel to Japan Proves Ineffective; Chinese Netizens: “I’ll Go Have Some Fun Too”

A video shared by netizens shows Chinese tourists enjoying a ride on a travel train in Japan. (Video screenshot)

[People News]In response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statement that “If something happens to Taiwan, it is something that happens to Japan,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched economic sanctions against Japan. One of the measures was to boycott Japan’s tourism industry, aiming to sharply reduce the number of Chinese travelers visiting Japan. However, new official Japanese data show that the CCP’s sanctions have had little impact on Japan’s tourism sector.

According to a report by Liberty Times, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization indicate that the number of Chinese visitors to Japan was 980,520 in January last year, dropping to 385,300 this January. However, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Japan this January was 3,597,500, compared with 3,781,629 in January last year—a decline of only 4.9%. This shows that although Chinese visitors decreased by 60.7%, the overall impact was limited, as visitor numbers from many other countries increased.

According to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun, official Japanese data show that excluding visitors from China and Hong Kong, the number of tourists to Japan grew by 17.8%, a very solid performance. Among them, South Korea saw a 21.6% increase, reaching 1.17 million visitors, setting a historical monthly record for a single country’s visitors to Japan; Taiwan increased by 17%, reaching 690,000 visitors, with an impressive performance; Europe, the United States, and Australia—considered high-spending markets—also showed strong growth.

Shigeki Murata, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, stated at a press conference on the 18th that, according to surveys of industry groups, “Visitors from outside China have made up for the demand, and domestic lodging and travel bookings are on par with or slightly higher than last year’s Lunar New Year holiday.” He explained that there are currently no plans to adopt additional measures in response to the reduction in Chinese tourists.

After learning of the news, Chinese netizens expressed mixed feelings. Some admitted frankly, “Those who want to go will still go; ordinary Japanese people don’t really care,” and “Quite a few people are going—many colleagues went to Hokkaido during this year’s New Year holiday.” Some Chinese netizens are already preparing to travel to Japan, saying, “I’ve already bought my tickets for cherry blossom season,” and “With fewer people, it’s perfect—I’ll go have some fun too.” △