【Epoch Times, January 16, 2026】The Chinese Communist Party continues its so-called retaliation against Japan, leading to a sharp decrease in flights from China to Japan. According to relevant data, as of January 15, during the Chinese New Year travel rush, mainland China has canceled 2,376 flights to Japan, with an overall cancellation rate reaching 36%.
First Financial reported that data from Flight Butler shows that during the 2026 Chinese New Year travel period, Thailand has returned to the top of the list of popular international destinations departing from China, while flights to Japan have significantly declined, with a year-on-year decrease in flight volume exceeding 40%.
By January 15, the number of flights from mainland China to Japan during the Chinese New Year travel period had reached 2,376 cancellations, with an overall cancellation rate of 36%. As a major hub for flights to Japan, Shanghai Pudong Airport, which accounts for nearly 50% of flights, has canceled over 1,200 outbound flights, making it the airport with the highest number of cancellations.
In addition, among the top ten airports in mainland China with the most flights to Japan, Nanjing Lukou, Beijing Daxing, and Tianjin Binhai Airport are among the highest in cancellation rates.
Over 40% of planned flights from mainland China to Japan last month were canceled, totaling over 1,900 flights.
In November of last year, Japanese Prime Minister Koji Hayashi warned during a parliamentary inquiry that a “crisis in Taiwan” could pose an existential threat to Japan.
The Chinese Communist Party responded by taking multiple retaliatory measures, including “warning” Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. The Chinese official announcement stated that “540,000 plane tickets to Japan for tourism have been canceled.”
In response, senior media figure Akio Yabuta pointed out that China’s actions are limited in effectiveness and have not only failed to punish Japan but have also harmed China itself.
British aviation experts have stated that this political manipulation has had a greater impact on Chinese airlines than on Japanese airlines.
On November 19 of last year, a staff member at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Xiao Ting, told Epoch Times that there is a long-term demand for flights to Japan. The booking volume exceeds the actual demand, with many cancellations coming from the booking side, but flights from Shanghai to Japan have not been canceled. She said, “Flights used to be full, and now they are close to full. Although some people cancel tickets, the seats will be filled by other passengers.”
Xiao Ting continued, saying, “Our company’s ticket revenue has not shown significant changes.”
Miss Zhou, a staff member at the Overseas Chinese City International Travel Agency in Shenzhen, stated, “Ticket refunds are rare. Even if some people cancel tickets, vacant seats are quickly filled. Flights are maintaining their original schedules. I haven’t heard of any cancellations due to boycotting Japan recently.”
On December 17 of last year, the Japan National Tourism Organization announced that in November, there were 562,600 Chinese visitors to Japan, a slight increase of 3% compared to the same period last year.
The Japan National Tourism Organization stated that in November, the number of overseas business and leisure visitors entering Japan was 3.52 million, with an expected total of over 39 million tourist arrivals by 2025. The total number of foreign visitors increased by 10.4% compared to the previous year, indicating that the Japanese tourism industry has not been significantly affected by the tense relations between China and Japan.