The 2% decrease in the number of foreign visitors to Japan in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year is also attracting attention in China.

According to an announcement by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on the 15th, the estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan from January to June this year was 21,084,800, a 2% decrease compared to the same period last year. This is the first time in five years that the first half of the year has seen a decrease. Chinese visitors decreased significantly by 56.4% to 2,058,200. This is believed to be due to calls from the Chinese side for its citizens to refrain from visiting Japan.

On the other hand, South Koreans increased by 18.6% to 5,675,100, Taiwanese by 20.9% to 3,972,200, Americans by 7.1% to 1,821,700, and Hong Kongers by 2.2% to 1,298,000, all showing increases.

For the month of June alone, the number of foreign visitors to Japan was 3,148,600, a 6.8% decrease compared to the same month last year. By country/region, Chinese visitors decreased by 57.3% to 340,700, while South Koreans increased by 7.8% to 787,100, Taiwanese by 14.6% to 670,400, and Americans by 2.7% to 354,500.

Chinese media outlet Guancha.cn pointed out that the deterioration of Japan-China relations was triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary response regarding Taiwan last November. It reported, emphasizing the significant impact on Japan, that 'China has long been one of the important markets for foreign visitors for Japan's tourism industry, but due to the worsening relations, Japanese media are expressing concerns about the impact on the tourism industry and even the Japanese economy.'

Furthermore, posts citing this report on the number of foreign visitors are successively appearing on Chinese SNS, with many arguing, for example, 'Japan is really in a panic.'

In the comment section of Guancha.cn's article, a series of strong comments appeared, such as, '(Japan) brought it upon themselves.' 'There are many fun travel destinations now. Tourist spots in Southeast Asia and within China are cheap and comfortable. There's no need to go out of your way to a place where you'll feel bad and spend money.' 'The overall 2% decrease is largely due to the decrease in Chinese visitors. With Japan raising visa fees for China and increasing the hurdle, Japan's tourism industry will suffer an even greater blow.' 'Japan has been trying to increase the proportion of tourists from Europe and America in recent years, but it's not easy to completely replace the Chinese market in a short period.' 'It's inevitable that Europeans and Americans travel there because the yen is too cheap. We should just put pressure on Japan at our own pace, such as with export restrictions.'

On the other hand, many different views were posted on the SNS Xiaohongshu (RED), such as, 'Japanese people don't want Chinese people to come anyway.' 'Even if Chinese tourists halve, the overall decrease is only 2%. It won't have a significant impact on the Japanese economy.' 'If they were really panicking, they wouldn't raise visa fees.' 'Japanese people are rather happy. They used to say there were too many tourists.' 'Japanese people aren't panicking at all. You can see it if you check the YouTube comments. They're overjoyed.'

There were also voices pointing out things like, '(Chinese authorities) have canceled a large number of flights, causing airfares (to Japan) to skyrocket. It's not that (Chinese) tourists don't want to go, but rather that the cost of visiting Japan has significantly increased, and they can no longer afford it.' 'Even though Chinese visitors have decreased by 56%, the overall decrease is only 2%. Moreover, since it overlapped with the World Cup (W杯) period, in real terms, there's no decrease at all.'

In addition, users residing in Japan commented, 'Hotel operations are good because there are many Western tourists. But department stores seem to be having a tough time because of the decrease in Chinese tourists,' and 'Looking at the numbers, (foreign visitors to Japan) are increasing year by year. While Chinese tourists have certainly decreased, the streets are overflowing with white tourists,' and a Hong Kong user expressed joy, saying, 'This is a good thing. (With the decrease in Chinese tourists), the overall quality of tourists in Japan will improve.' (Translation/Editing by Kitada)