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Chinese tourist numbers to Japan have plummeted amid diplomatic frictions, security warnings, large-scale flight cancellations, and growing concerns over natural disasters and disease outbreaks, experts said on Tuesday.

专家周二表示，受外交摩擦、安全警告、大规模航班取消以及对自然灾害和疾病暴发的担忧加剧影响，赴日中国游客数量急剧下降。

Chinese carriers have canceled nearly half of all flights from the Chinese mainland to Japan this month. The downturn began in November, when remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi involving Taiwan triggered public backlash, according to Yang Jinsong, a researcher at the China Tourism Academy.

中国航空公司本月已取消近半数从中国大陆飞往日本的航班。中国旅游研究院研究员杨劲松指出，自去年11月日本首相高市早苗涉及台湾问题的言论引发公众强烈反响后，航班量便开始下滑。

Yang said the drop in traveler demand is the result of multiple overlapping factors. "In addition to fluctuations in bilateral relations that have fueled public sentiment, travelers are increasingly wary of Japan's public security situation, recent earthquake activity, as well as disease outbreaks," Yang said.

杨劲松表示，旅客需求下降是由多重因素叠加造成的。他说道：“除了双边关系波动引发的公众情绪波动外，旅客对日本公共安全状况、近期地震活动以及疾病暴发的担忧也在不断加剧。”

On Monday, three major carriers — Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines — announced that passengers who purchased tickets before noon that day for Japan-bound flights scheduled between March 29 and Oct 24, 2026, would be eligible for free refunds or changes.

周一，三大航空公司——中国国际航空、中国南方航空和中国东方航空——宣布，凡在当天中午之前购买2026年3月29日至10月24日期间飞往日本航班机票的乘客，均可免费办理退票或改签手续。

Since Nov 15, 2025, Chinese carriers have canceled a large number of flights to Japan. Data from aviation platform Flight Manager shows that in January 2026, the cancellation rate for flights from the Chinese mainland to Japan reached 47.2 percent, up 7.8 percentage points from the previous month. As of Monday, flights on 49 routes scheduled for February had been canceled.

自2025年11月15日起，中国航空公司大幅取消飞往日本的航班。航空平台Flight Manager数据显示，2026年1月中国大陆飞往日本的航班取消率达47.2%，较上月上升7.8个百分点。截至周一，原定2月份执飞的49条航线航班已被取消。

According to immigration statistics released by the Japanese government on Jan 15, about 348,700 Chinese nationals, excluding those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, traveled to Japan in