Kansai Airport alone canceled 626 flights
Concerts and musicals were canceled one after another.
Travel demand shifts to Korea, Thailand, etc.
China’s retaliation against Japan in response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi‘s remarks on ‘intervention in Taiwan in case of emergency’ is unusual.
While China issued an order to refrain from traveling to or studying in Japan, Chinese airlines were found to have reduced flights to Japan by about 900. There is analysis that a full-scale ‘Korea-Japan Order’ is starting.
Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan. EPAYonhap News
According to a report by the Nippon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 29th, as of the 27th, Chinese airlines decided to suspend flight 904, or 16% of the 5,548 flights to Japan scheduled to be operated next month.
Nikkei reported that the number of suspended flights was 268 as of the 25th of this month, but more than tripled in just two days. It was analyzed that there are 72 routes where flights are suspended, and the total number of seats is 156,000. There are a total of 172 regular flight routes between China and Japan.
The Japanese airport hit hardest was Osaka Kansai Airport, where the number of flights decreased by a whopping 626. This was followed by Narita Airport and Chubu Airport near Nagoya with 68 flights each, and New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, Hokkaido with 61 flights.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. EPAYonhap News
As travel cancellations become a reality, Chinese consumers’ overseas travel demand is rapidly shifting to Korea and Southeast Asia. According to the Chinese travel platform Qunal, Korea ranked first as a popular overseas travel destination for Chinese people as of the 15th and 16th. Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia followed.
Cultural events, including performances, are being canceled one after another due to China’s ‘Japan-Korea’ policy.
An aircraft taking off from Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, China. EPAYonhap News
NHK reported that singer Ayumi Hamasaki’s concert, which was scheduled to be held in Shanghai on the 29th, was canceled by the Chinese organizer the afternoon of the previous day, citing ‘force majeure factors’. Kyodo News reported that the musical ‘Pretty Warrior Sailor Moon’, which was scheduled to be shown in Hangzhou and Beijing, was also suddenly canceled.
Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK also stopped airing Season 2 of the Japanese animation ‘Cells at Work‘. The theatrical version of this animation, along with the ‘Crayon Crayon Shin-chan’ series, was recently delayed indefinitely in its release in mainland China.
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