A view of Beijing Daxing International Airport Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Daxing International Airport

All flights on 12 China-Japan air routes were canceled in July, and a total of 1,195 flights between the Chinese mainland and Japan were canceled during the month, representing a cancellation rate of 31.4 percent, the Global Times learned from flight tracking platform Flight Manager DAST.

The China-Japan routes that saw all flights canceled in July were mostly routes from Chinese cities to Osaka and Tokyo, as well as flights from Shanghai and other cities to second- and third-tier cities in Japan, the data showed.

China-Japan ties have deteriorated following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region and subsequent provocative moves made by Tokyo. Chinese authorities have previously advised Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, citing continued deterioration of the security environment for Chinese nationals there.

Amid the ongoing summer travel peak season, Japan dropped out of the list of top outbound destinations for Chinese tourists. According to data sent to the Global Times on Friday by Chinese travel platform Tuniu, tourists on the platform are showing a clear trend toward short-haul leisure vacations and long-haul in-depth experiences during the summer travel peak season. Among these, destinations such as South Korea, Maldives and Thailand rank among the most popular for summer travel.

Notably, even as the number of flights to Japan plunged significantly, in the first half of 2026, flights between China and South Korea surpassed pre-2019 levels, while the recovery rate for Thailand reached 64.7 percent, compared with 53.5 percent for flights to Japan, DAST told the Global Times.

Meanwhile, Japan recently announced increases in visa fees for applicants, including those from China, while South Korea has stepped up efforts to attract Chinese visitors. The country's Justice Ministry announced an extension of the group visa fee waiver for travelers from six countries, including China, through the end of 2026.