Rising Anti-Japanese Sentiment in China Over Contaminated Water Discharge... "Group Tour Cancellations Underway"

"Before National Day 'Golden Holiday'... Online Travel Agencies' Main Pages Lose Ground to Japan"

Chinese media outlet Yicai (第一財經) reported on the 26th that anti-Japanese sentiment is rising in China due to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (referred to by the Japanese government as "treated water"), leading to cancellations of group tour reservations to Japan.

As of that day, Japan travel promotion menus on major Chinese online travel platforms such as Ctrip (携程), Tongcheng, Tuniu, and Lvmama have dropped from their previously prominent positions, and some customers have been canceling their bookings.

An official from a large Chinese travel agency said, "In the past few days, we have received consecutive cancellations of group tours to Japan," adding, "Some customers who originally planned to visit Japan during the National Day holiday (October 1) are now taking a wait-and-see approach and have not placed orders immediately."

The Chinese government fully lifted restrictions on group travel for its citizens to 78 countries, including South Korea, the United States, and Japan, on the 10th of this month.

Before the spread of COVID-19, in 2019, 9.59 million Chinese visited Japan, accounting for about 30% of all foreign visitors to Japan.

That year, the amount spent by Chinese tourists in Japan was 1.7704 trillion yen (approximately 16.2 trillion KRW), making them the highest spenders per capita as well.

Since group tours for Chinese tourists were blocked starting January 2020, the related industries inevitably suffered, and Japan welcomed the recent lifting of travel restrictions for Chinese tourists after more than three years.

Especially with the upcoming National Day "peak season," one of China's largest holidays, there was anticipation that the tourism industry would regain momentum.

Online travel agencies had been prominently featuring popular destinations such as South Korea and Japan and accepting reservations accordingly.

Following the start of the discharge of contaminated water from Japan, Yicai reported that many travel agencies in China responded that they might adjust their future marketing strategies, particularly regarding product sales during the National Day period.

On the 24th, when Japan began discharging contaminated water (referred to as "treated water" by the Japanese government) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, a woman was looking at seafood at a large supermarket in Beijing, China. The General Administration of Customs of China announced in a statement released immediately after Japan started discharging the contaminated water that it would completely suspend imports of seafood originating from Japan.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The media explained that there is also consideration of temporarily lowering the level of Japan travel promotions or even halting marketing related to Japan travel altogether.

Travel platforms like Lvmama have shifted to promoting travel routes to Germany, the United Kingdom, and Northern Europe.

Jiang Zining, CEO of a travel agency, said, "Japan was expected to be one of the beneficiaries of the Chinese National Day golden week as it was included in the list of countries allowing group tours," adding, "The discharge of nuclear contaminated water has raised safety concerns, leading to a significant drop in Chinese tourists' reservations for travel to Japan."

He added, "If Chinese tourists have already 'expressed their stance with their footsteps' during the National Day period, it is likely that Japan's travel economy will experience a contraction due to the decrease in Chinese tourists for a considerable period going forward."

Earlier, China strongly criticized Japan's discharge of nuclear power plant contaminated water and imposed a complete ban on imports of Japanese seafood starting from the 24th, when the discharge began.

Some netizens have also been calling for a boycott of Japanese products mainly through social networking services (SNS), intensifying anti-Japanese sentiment in China triggered by the contaminated water discharge.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.