Screenshot of the notice from the WeChat account of the Department of Consular Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued a notice advising Chinese nationals to avoid traveling to Japan in the near term, after multiple earthquakes have struck consecutively in the waters off eastern Honshu, Japan and Japanese authorities have warned that even stronger earthquakes may occur in the coming days.

Since December 8, multiple earthquakes have struck consecutively in the waters off eastern Honshu, Japan, with the strongest reaching magnitude 7.5. The quakes have so far injured numerous people, and triggered observable tsunamis in several areas, prompting evacuation orders for over 100,000 residents, according to a notice posted on the Department of Consular Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ WeChat account.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese Embassy and consulates in Japan remind Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near term. Chinese citizens already in Japan are advised to closely monitor earthquake and secondary disaster warnings, follow local evacuation orders, strengthen personal safety precautions, and stay away from high-risk areas such as beaches. In case of emergency, Chinese nationals should call the police immediately and contact the Chinese Embassy or consulates in Japan for assistance, the notice said. 

Notably, this marks the second time Chinese authorities issued warnings against traveling to Japan within a month. 

On November 14, the Foreign Ministry also released a notice, advising Chinese nationals to refrain from traveling to Japan in the near future, pointing to multiple criminal offenses and incidents of attacks against Chinese nationals in Japan this year, a continuously deteriorating security environment for Chinese nationals in Japan, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks concerning Taiwan that have severely undermined the atmosphere for China-Japan personnel exchanges and brought major security risks for Chinese nationals.

As Chinese visitors continued to cancel trips, the local tourism industry in Japan faces major impact. For example, Osaka, Japan’s second-largest economic hub and one of the clearest symbols of the nation’s reliance on Chinese tourism, has endured a “heavy hit,” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Chinese visitors are Japan’s biggest spenders, accounting for a fifth of the country’s 8.1 trillion yen (S$67 billion) tourism revenue. Their sudden retreat threatens one of the few bright spots for Japan’s economy, according to Bloomberg. 

Global Times