Some Chinese tourists call off trips to Japan amid spat

Travel agencies cautious amid fallout from Japanese PM's Taiwan remarks

- Lim Min Zhang

BEIJING In the few days since the Chinese government advised its citizens against visiting Japan over a bilateral spat, Tokyo-based tour guide Xie Shanpeng has received four cancellations from his Chinese customers, although more than 90 per cent are continuing with their trips.

He has run his own tour business in Japan from 2013, and typically receives one thousand to two thousand tourists from China a month.

“The impact in November doesn’t seem significant for now because hotels and transport companies have to pay high cancellation fees closer to departure, making it economically unviable,” Mr Xie told The Straits Times.

“But for new inquiries, including those for travel to Japan during next year’s Spring Festival, those will certainly be affected,” Mr Xie added.

The cancellations indicate the continuing fallout from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Nov 7 in Parliament that Tokyo could respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Her remarks and refusal to retract them have incurred the ire of China, which sees the self-governing island as its territory.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that her remarks “constituted a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs” and on Nov 13 summoned Japan’s ambassador to lodge a strong protest over the comments.

Beijing has also expressed its displeasure by issuing official advisories discouraging its citizens from going to Japan for tourism and education.