People walk at the Sensoji temple in the Asakusa district in Tokyo on December 1, 2025. Photo: VCG

Major Japanese duty-free stores' sales to foreign visitors fell sharply in December after China urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan, according to a Japanese media report on Monday. Meanwhile, air traffic between China and Japan dropped during the New Year holiday period, according to data from a Chinese travel platform on Monday.

Duty-free sales to foreign visitors at four major Japanese department store operators fell by between 10 percent and 20 percent in December from a year earlier, with the companies saying the decline was influenced by the Chinese government's call for citizens to avoid travel to Japan, NHK reported on Monday.

Specifically, duty-free sales to foreign travelers declined from a year earlier by about 20 percent at Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, 16.6 percent at Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, 14.2 percent at Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, and 11.1 percent at Takashimaya, according to the NHK report. 

The companies cited factors including China's call for its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, as well as a reduction in flights linking Japan with the Chinese mainland, which led to fewer visits by Chinese tourists to their stores, according to the report.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism in November 16 advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. In a statement published on its official website, the ministry cited the travel advisory issued by the Chinese foreign ministry, which referred to a deteriorating security environment for Chinese citizens in Japan as well as recent provocative remarks made by the Japanese leader regarding China's Taiwan.

Also on Monday, data sent to the Global Times by flight industry information provider Fly Master showed that during the 2026 New Year holidays, flights from China to Japan fell 40.5 percent year-on-year, while South Korea ranked first among outbound destinations, with flight volume up 6.5 percent compared with the 2025 holidays.

At the route level, 14 of the top 20 inbound and outbound international routes during the New Year holidays recorded flight volumes exceeding those of the same period in 2025. However, flights on the Shanghai-Osaka route dropped by 34.2 percent year-on-year, per the data.

With the Lunar New Year holidays, which runs from mid-February and is traditionally a peak travel period for Chinese visitors to Japan, approaching, concerns have emerged over how long the impact on Japan's tourism and retail sectors may persist, according to the NHK report.

Japan could lose an estimated $9.59 billion in 2026 if Chinese travelers continue to stay away, with the projected decline in travel from China equivalent to about 0.29 percent of the country's GDP, the Xinhua News Agency reported previously.

Global Times