From journey warnings to visa charges: why Chinese tourism to Japan is in free fall

Mainland Chinese vacationer arrivals in Japan fell for an eighth consecutive month in July, as group excursions slumped and visa prices rose amid deteriorating ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

Mainland China has historically been a serious supply of holiday makers for Japan, however vacationer arrivals plunged 56.1 per cent yr on yr in July, extending a downward development that started in December 2025, in line with knowledge launched by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) on Wednesday.

Overall international arrivals to Japan edged up 0.1 per cent – the primary enhance in 4 months – supported primarily by robust demand from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Middle East. For the primary seven months of the yr, mainland Chinese guests plummeted 56.3 per cent yr on yr, whereas complete international arrivals fell 1.7 per cent, JNTO figures confirmed.

Li Hanming, an unbiased aviation and journey business analyst, famous {that a} collapse in organised group excursions was the principle driver behind the contraction. “Group tours face a major hurdle because travel agencies are refraining from organising group trips when official travel warnings are in place,” he stated.

Jocean Zhou, a Shanghai-based social media supervisor and frequent traveller to Japan, stated the shift was clearly seen on the bottom. “In the past, you would see crowds of Chinese tour groups outside major tourist spots. Now, it’s almost entirely individual travellers,” Zhou stated.