Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s remarks regarding “Taiwan’s situation” have sparked a backlash from Beijing. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a notice urging Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, with even the Xinjiang Wusu police releasing a video publicly discouraging people from going. However, official warnings have not been able to stop a large number of Chinese people from continuing to travel to Japan.
On November 14, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel warning to Japan late at night, stating that it is unsafe to travel to Japan recently and advising people to avoid visiting the country. Airlines immediately began offering free ticket refunds, with reports indicating that 491,000 tickets to Japan have already been canceled.
On November 17, the Xinjiang Wusu police went a step further by releasing a short video openly discouraging people from traveling to Japan. In the circulated video, a man and woman dressed in Xinjiang’s “Peace Wusu” public security uniforms can be seen saying, “Stop! Don’t book tickets and hotels for Japan anymore.”
In the video, the pair described traveling to Japan as “spending money to court trouble” and likened it to opening a “safety blind box”. They warned of scams targeting Chinese people, the risk of getting lost climbing Mount Fuji, the dangers of taking photos on train tracks, and even mentioned natural disasters like earthquakes and storms.
After the video was released, it sparked mockery from many netizens online. Comments left by netizens included remarks such as, “Who doesn’t know that domestic tourist attractions are all traps?”, “Making up ghost stories to deceive the public”, “Getting too deep into the act, forgetting that our fellow Xinjiang compatriots don’t even have passports”, and “Fortunately, we have the international internet to not be fooled by you.”
Currently, the video has been deleted.
Chinese tourists are one of the main sources of visitors to Japan. In the first three quarters of this year, the number of Chinese people traveling to Japan reached 7.48 million. According to the Japanese media “Asahi Shimbun”, despite the travel warning issued, on the 15th, passengers traveling from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Japan continued to be numerous, with a relaxed atmosphere on-site sharply contrasting the tense tone of the travel warning.
When interviewed, a couple in their 30s admitted they were aware of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ advice but had no intention of changing their plans. When asked about the reason, the couple responded discreetly saying, “We are not interested in politics.”
A woman in her early 20s who had just graduated from university mentioned her extensive travel experience, having been to Europe and other places without encountering unpleasant incidents due to nationality. She said, “Japan makes me feel particularly safe, and even if the tickets can be fully refunded, I won’t change my plans.”
On the 19th, a staff member at Shanghai Pudong International Airport confirmed to Dajiyuan that the bookings for flights to Japan were higher than the actual demand with many cancellations coming from the booking side. Flights from Shanghai to Japan have not been canceled. She stated, “The flights used to be full, and now they are near full. Although some people are canceling tickets, the seats are being filled by other passengers.”
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