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

Recently, given the deteriorating public security in Japan, a surge in criminal cases targeting Chinese nationals, and a spate of consecutive earthquakes striking certain regions, causing injuries, and the fact that the Japanese government has issued warnings about further quakes, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassy and consulates in Japan on Monday reminded Chinese citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan in the near term as the Spring Festival draws near, according to a notice released by the Department of Consular Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on its official WeChat account.

Chinese nationals already in Japan are advised to keep a close watch on the local public security situation as well as early warning information on earthquakes and secondary disasters, enhance their awareness of safety precautions, and strengthen self-protection measures.

The notice also said that in case of emergency, individuals should call the police promptly and contact Chinese diplomatic missions in Japan to seek assistance.

Also on Monday, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines issued notices, stating that for tickets issued before January 26, with flight departure dates between March 29 (inclusive) and October 24, 2026 (inclusive), Japan inbound, outbound, or transit flights are eligible for free refunds and changes. Prior to this, the free refund and change policy was only applicable until March 28.

Data from industry information provider Flight Master shows that as of Monday, 49 air routes had suspended all flights in February 2026, marking a further increase from January. 

The Beijing Daxing-Kansai route recorded the highest number of cancellations, with 113 trips axed, data from Flight Master showed. 

Other departure points with flight cancellations also include Shanghai, Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province and other cities, while the destinations include Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and and others, as shown by Flight Master.

This year's nine-day 2026 Spring Festival holidays, the longest on record, are projected to significantly boost the popularity of outbound travel from China.

In a shift from the previous year's travel patterns, recent data from several online tourism platforms indicates that Thailand has overtaken Japan as the top outbound destination for the Spring Festival holidays.

According to data sent by Qunar to the Global Times, the top 10 destinations for hotel bookings from mid-January through the Spring Festival period are Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam, China's Macao Special Administrative Region, Australia, and Indonesia. Notably, Japan did not make the list.

Japanese official data released on January 20 showed that Chinese visitors to Japan in December 2025 totaled around 330,000, marking a roughly 45 percent drop from the same period a year earlier, according to Japanese media reports. Nikkei Shimbun noted uncertainty looms ahead due to sluggish growth in Chinese visitors amid tensions between China and Japan.

Global Times