Beijing, China – China has warned its citizens against traveling to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday, the country’s longest national holiday,
amid ongoing political tensions between Beijing and Tokyo and no signs of a resolution to the dispute over Taiwan.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in an official statement that Chinese citizens “face serious security threats in Japan,” citing what it described
as a significant increase in crimes targeting Chinese nationals, as well as potential natural hazards, including earthquakes.
The ministry urged travelers to exercise extreme caution and reassess their travel plans during this period.
This warning comes amid escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries
since comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last November,
in which she suggested that any potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could provoke a military response from Tokyo.
These statements angered Beijing, which responded by escalating its political rhetoric,
imposing restrictions on some exports, cancelling a number of flights, and issuing strongly worded military warnings.
China issued similar travel warnings following these statements, while major Chinese airlines, including Air China, continued to extend
their free flight change and cancellation policies to Japan, policies first implemented in November and subsequently extended.
For its part, Japan announced that the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country fell
by 45% in December, despite Japan recording record numbers of foreign visitors.
The Japanese Prime Minister did not retract her previous statements but affirmed her country’s commitment to the “One China” policy,
asserting that the Chinese interpretation of her remarks did not reflect Tokyo’s true position.
Observers believe that the new travel warning reflects the ongoing political tension
between China and Japan and its direct impact on tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
