OPINION / VIEWPOINT
Politics, air, food put Japanese off China trips
Published: Jul 04, 2016 02:41 PM
The number of Japanese tourists visiting Shaanxi Province has declined sharply in recent years, according to the Shaanxi Provincial Tourism Administration (SPTA) Sunday. 

Since 2012 when the China-Japan relationship began to deteriorate due to Japan’s unilateral decision to nationalize the Diaoyu Islands, Japanese tourist numbers in Shaanxi have fallen every year. In 2015, only 95,712 Japanese tourists visited Shaanxi, a decrease of 47.9 percent compared with 2012, statistics shows.

Shaanxi, located in the hinterland of China, is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization and culture. It is home to various historic attractions, including the Terracotta Army Museum and the Qianling Mausoleum and Museum. 

Chen Mengyu, deputy director of the SPTA, said in an interview organized by the Seoul-based Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Sunday in Xi’an that, inspired by former Japanese prime minister Noboru Takeshita’s visit to Xi’an in 1988, many Japanese tourists who were interested in Shaanxi’s history and culture had visited the province despite a lack of infrastructure and tourism facilities. 

"Now, Shaanxi has greatly improved its conditions and service to boost tourism. The reason why fewer tourists are coming is not because the attractiveness of Shaanxi is decreasing, but it’s negatively influenced by some Japanese political figures." 

On September 11, 2012, the Japanese government under then prime minister Yoshihiko Noda sealed a deal to nationalize the Diaoyu Islands despite fierce objections from Beijing, provoking Chinese ire and triggering anti-Japan protests in major Chinese cities such as Shenzhen, Changsha and Xi’an. 

In contrast with the fall in Japanese tourist numbers, there has been a significant increase in the number of South Korean visitors touring Shaanxi. In 2015, 340,000 South Korean tourists visited Shaanxi, ranking the first among all foreign visitors. South Korean President Park Geun-hye paid a visit to Xi’an in June 2013, which has helped unleash the vitality of and intensified people-to-people exchanges between China and South Korea. 

The drop in Japanese tourist numbers was not only caused by political factors. According to the Japan Association of Travel Agents, Japanese overseas travel has continued to decline in recent years under the influence of a weak yen. Concerns over China’s air quality and food security have also crippled Japanese tourist numbers, said the SPTA.