Japanese businesses remain calm amid concerns over decline in Chinese tourists

After China advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan due to diplomatic tensions, the number of Chinese tourists to the country has dropped significantly. However, the immediate impact on business activities at stores, retail chains, hotels and tourism services in Japan is still unclear.

Ms. Shiina Ito, manager of a jewelry store in Tokyo, said she was “not too worried.” According to her, the decrease in Chinese customers has made the shopping space “more comfortable” for Japanese customers, so sales have not been affected.

Normally, Chinese customers make up about half of the customers at the store located in Asakusa - a popular destination with shopping streets always crowded with tourists.

Chinese tourists are known to spend more than average, so many Japanese tourism and retail businesses rely heavily on this group of customers, from food to cosmetics.

In major tourist areas, many hotels, fashion stores and even pharmacies arrange Chinese-speaking staff to serve Chinese customers exclusively, and shopping malls also often have signs in Chinese.

In Ginza, Tokyo's high-end shopping district, Yuki Yamamoto, manager of an udon noodle shop popular on Instagram, said he has not seen any significant changes since the Chinese government issued a travel warning.

Although he estimates that “half of the customers lining up every day are Chinese,” he said, “there has been no sudden change.” “If the number of customers decreases, of course it would be a pity. But Japanese customers still come regularly, so we are not too worried.”

However, some hotels that rely heavily on the Chinese market are feeling the pinch.

Keiko Takeuchi, owner of the Gamagori Hotel in central Japan, said cancellations from Chinese travel agencies “continue to come,” even though 50-60% of her hotel guests are Chinese. “I hope the situation will calm down soon, but it will probably take time,” she said.

Sino-Japanese relations became tense after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's statement regarding the Taiwan (China) issue in early November 2025, leading to concerns about the impact on bilateral economic and trade activities.

On November 14, Beijing warned its citizens not to travel to Japan, causing about 500,000 plane tickets and a series of tours to be canceled.

According to Japanese statistics, nearly 7.5 million Chinese tourists will visit Japan from January to September 2025, accounting for a quarter of the total number of international visitors. Thanks to the weak yen, Chinese tourists spent about 3.7 billion USD in the third quarter of 2025 alone.

By 2024, Chinese tourists are expected to spend 22% more on average than visitors from other countries. But the record number of international visitors last year of 36.8 million has also left Japan facing a tourism glut that is putting pressure on people’s livelihoods.

In Shanghai, Wu Weiguo, a travel agency manager, said 90% of his clients had canceled their Japan tours. But according to the Japan Tourism Agency, only 12% of Chinese tourists last year went on tours, down from 43% in 2015.

Japanese Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said this development is “not too worrying,” as the number of visitors from many other markets is on the rise./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/doanh-nghiep-nhat-ban-binh-than-truoc-lo-ngai-sut-giam-du-khach-trung-quoc-post1078823.vnp