Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, there hasn't been such a magnitude of sudden trip cancellations. In just three days, from Saturday to Monday, Chinese airlines recorded over 500,000 ticket cancellations to Japan, mainly affecting the most frequent connection from Shanghai to Tokyo. Yesterday, 75.6% of total reservations were suspended, including the famous group tours to a destination normally very popular among Chinese tourists. Airlines are fulfilling their promise by refunding customers the full price of the flights.
Analysts estimate losses in the billions of yuan. However, this is overshadowed by the ongoing diplomatic dispute that touches on China's national pride and has once again stirred up deep-seated anti-Japanese sentiments.
This time, tensions between the two Asian neighbors escalated earlier this month following a suggestion by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that Tokyo could deploy its military forces in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. These words crossed a red line for Beijing, which is always hypersensitive to any issue regarding the self-governing island that it considers a separatist province.
Chinese authorities, citing security reasons, warned their citizens over the weekend not to travel to Japan. This led to a wave of trip cancellations. On Monday, the headline news was the plummeting stock prices of several major Japanese companies related to tourism and trade. According to Japanese authorities, China was the main source of tourism for the country in the first nine months of this year, with approximately 7.49 million travelers.
Additionally, as reported by Chinese media, state-owned enterprises in China are prohibiting their employees from traveling to Japan, and some planned bilateral economic forums in the coming months have been suspended.
But China's economic pressure goes further: Chinese film distributors have suspended or postponed the release of at least two Japanese movies. Meanwhile, official propaganda continues with its threatening campaign against Tokyo.
"Takaichi's government runs the risk of turning the entire country into a battlefield if it decides to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait," warns an editorial in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "Takaichi's misguided statements invoke the spirit of militarism. Less than a month after taking office, Takaichi has become the first sitting Japanese leader to openly advocate this dangerous stance that could lead the country to repeat past mistakes."
In this tense scenario, China's Maritime Safety Administration issued an alert last night about live-fire exercises in areas of the southern Yellow Sea, separating eastern China from the coasts of South Korea and Japan. According to the announcement, the military maneuvers will begin on Tuesday and extend until November 25.
Tokyo has warned its citizens residing or visiting China in recent hours to "intensify security precautions and avoid crowded places."
In an effort to prevent further escalation of tensions, the Japanese have tried to maintain a lower profile in recent days, launching a diplomatic offensive that has yet to yield results. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stated on Tuesday before Parliament that the Japanese government "is working on various fronts to clarify Takaichi's statements," including sending a senior Japanese diplomat to Beijing to speak with Chinese officials.
However, Beijing insists that Takaichi must retract her inflammatory statement, which has triggered the most serious diplomatic crisis between the two countries since her mentor and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made similar comments five years ago about a possible military intervention if China decides to invade Taiwan.