Japan has released new data that directly contradicts the claims made by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the deteriorating security situation in Japan and the rampant crimes targeting Chinese citizens. In fact, in recent years, criminal cases against Chinese citizens in Japan have decreased rather than increased. At the same time, Tokyo merchants have indicated to foreign media that with fewer Chinese tourists, local customers find it easier to shop, and overall sales have not significantly declined.
On Friday (November 21st), the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited statistics from the National Police Agency, indicating that from January to October of this year, there were 28 major criminal cases such as murder, robbery, and arson targeting Chinese citizens in Japan, compared to 35 during the same period last year, showing a decrease.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs further clarified that these statistics also include cases where the primary suspects are Chinese citizens, meaning that criminal activities among Chinese nationals have been taken into account as well.
Japanese officials emphasized that the recent statement issued by Beijing, suggesting a surge in criminal cases against Chinese citizens in Japan this year and an increased security risk for Chinese nationals in Japan, is “incorrect.”
According to the data on major criminal cases released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from January to October 2025, there were a total of 28 major criminal cases targeting Chinese nationals in Japan, fewer than the 45 cases recorded for the entire year of 2024 and lower than the 35 cases reported during the same period last year.
Breaking down the types of cases, there were 7 murder cases, 21 robbery cases, and 0 arson cases in the first ten months of this year, compared to 14, 18, and 3 cases, respectively, during the same period last year.
The statistics also include data on major criminal cases for the full year of 2023, showing an overall trend of decreasing case numbers.
The Chinese authorities have claimed that issuing travel warnings is based on safety considerations. However, the timing of the warning closely followed Japanese Prime Minister’s remarks regarding the situation in Taiwan. Japanese officials and the international community generally believe this is a form of economic coercion by China against Japan.
On November 7th, Prime Minister made remarks in the parliament suggesting that in case of an emergency in Taiwan, Japan might take action under the framework of collective self-defense.
Subsequently, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, openly made aggressive remarks of “decapitating the Japanese Prime Minister”, leading to a drastic deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations and attracting widespread international attention.
Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan implemented relevant legislation in 2016, enabling Japan to exercise its “collective self-defense rights” under certain conditions. This legislation not only strengthened the Japan-US alliance but also expanded the scope of Self-Defense Forces’ activities overseas. This marked a major shift in Japan’s security policy from focusing solely on defense to allowing the use of force to protect allies in situations of existential crisis.
Since Prime Minister’s remarks on the Taiwan issue, China has taken a series of measures aiming to impact Japan’s economy, including issuing travel warnings and temporarily suspending seafood imports from Japan.
In response to the Chinese measures, Japan’s Minister of Economic Security Kimi Onoda straightforwardly stated, “Over-reliance on a country that resorts to economic coercion at the slightest dissatisfaction is indeed risky.”
She added, “This not only poses a risk to the supply chain but also impacts tourism.”
China’s travel warnings have had varying effects across different regions in Japan, especially those more heavily reliant on Chinese group tourists, which have been somewhat impacted. However, with changing travel habits of Chinese tourists in recent years, coupled with an increase in visitors from other countries and a willingness of local customers to shop, the overall impact may not be significant.
According to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, only about 12% of Chinese tourists traveled to Japan in groups last year, significantly lower than the nearly 43% in 2015. Consequently, Japan’s overall dependency on Chinese group tourists is decreasing.
A travel agency manager in Shanghai, Wu Weiguo, told France Press: “Group travel is most affected,” with 90% of his clients requesting to cancel their trips to Japan.
However, he believes that this dispute will not stop Chinese tourists from longing to visit Tokyo.
“They believe in high-quality service and reasonable shopping prices,” he said. “Chinese people still want to go to Japan.”
Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Kyoshi Kaneko, told France Press that this is not something to be overly alarmed about, mentioning that after the decrease in Chinese visitors, there has been an increase in visitors from other countries to Japan.
Several Tokyo merchants also informed France Press that despite fewer Chinese customers, local Japanese customers have stepped in, and sales have not been significantly impacted.
Manager Yuki Yamamoto of a popular udon noodle shop in the Ginza district of Tokyo, known on Instagram, mentioned that while about half of their usual queue consists of Chinese customers, she has not noticed any direct impact on sales since Beijing’s warning to its citizens to avoid Japan.
“I haven’t seen any sudden or drastic changes,” she said. “Of course, it’s not advantageous for the store if customers decrease. However, Japanese customers still frequent the shop, so we are not too worried,” added Yuki Yamamoto.
Shiina Ito, who runs a jewelry store in Tokyo, also indicated, “After the decrease in Chinese customers, it has become easier for Japanese customers to enter the shop, and our sales have not actually declined.”