Pedestrians walk down a street in the amusement district of Shinjuku in Tokyo, on February 12, 2026. Photo: VCG

Chinese traffic data analysis platform DAST said on Friday that, during March, which marked the start of Japan's cherry blossom season, a total of 53 China-Japan routes had all flights canceled, an increase from February.

The platform said in a statement to the Global Times that a total of 2,691 flights from the Chinese mainland to Japan were canceled in March, with the cancellation rate reaching 49.6 percent, up 1.1 percentage points from February.

The number of travelers from the Chinese mainland to Japan has continued to decline since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made erroneous remarks on Taiwan, affecting Japan's retail, accommodation, and catering sectors, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on March 18 showed that the number of visitors from the Chinese mainland to Japan fell 54.1 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year, per Xinhua. Among them, the figure dropped 60.7 percent in January and 45.2 percent in February from a year earlier.

Data from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare showed that new job openings in the country's accommodation and food service sector fell 13.8 percent year-on-year in January, according to Xinhua, citing an official from the ministry saying some industries had already begun tightening hiring due to the decline in Chinese tourist arrivals.

Earlier, after the Spring Festival holidays, one of China's short holiday breaks, data showed that the number of China-Japan air routes in operation continued to decline, in line with a sharp drop in Chinese travelers' willingness to visit Japan.

At present, according to official notices, some Japan-bound flights are still eligible for free refunds or changes.

Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines said in notices issued on January 26 that, in light of the travel advisory released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, passengers who had purchased tickets before 12 pm on January 26 for Japan routes operated by the three carriers, with travel dates from March 29 to October 24, would be eligible for free refunds or changes, in order to help affected travelers better arrange their trips, according to Xinhua's another report.

The three airlines have issued special ticket-handling policies for Japan routes multiple times. Their previous free refund and change policy had applied through March 28, the report said.

Global Times