'Cherry Blossom Boom' Nowhere in Sight: 2,691 Flights Canceled as China-Japan Relations Remain Frosty

Half of China-Japan Flight Routes Disappear

Amid tense relations between China and Japan, the trend of shrinking exchanges continues, with half of all flights between the two countries canceled even during Japan’s peak cherry blossom season in March.

On April 11, Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily reported, citing data from aviation analytics firm Hangban Guanzhe, that a total of 2,691 flights between mainland China and Japan were canceled in March.

This amounts to a cancellation rate of 49.6% compared to the total scheduled flights. The rate rose by 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. A total of 53 routes were entirely suspended, including the route between Beijing Daxing International Airport and Japan’s Kansai International Airport in Osaka, where all 125 scheduled flights were canceled.

Sing Tao Daily explained, “The changes in flight cancellation rates demonstrate a continued decline in air traffic between the two countries.”

March is typically Japan’s high season, attracting large numbers of travelers looking to see cherry blossoms and other spring flowers. Nevertheless, the significant decrease in flight demand appears to be a result of the sharp deterioration in China-Japan relations following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks last November suggesting possible intervention in the Taiwan issue in the event of a contingency.

China has advised against travel and study in Japan, halted imports of Japanese seafood, and tightened export controls on dual-use goods. These measures are seen as having a direct impact on logistics and tourism indicators. Industry observers believe that with demand for passenger flights between China and Japan failing to recover amid frosty bilateral relations, airlines concerned about losses have opted to suspend routes.

In fact, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan plummeted 60.7% year-on-year to 385,300 in January this year, and remained low at 396,400 in February, a 45.2% decrease.

Previously, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan due to social instability and safety concerns. Additionally, airlines have extended the period for free cancellations and changes on tickets to Japan until the end of October this year. This marks a second extension: after initially setting the deadline at December 31 last year, it was pushed to March 28, and then in January, extended by a further seven months.

Meanwhile, in March, it was confirmed that a large number of Japan-themed facilities were dismantled in the ‘Japanese-style Street’ in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China, and Japanese officials were not invited to the cherry blossom planting event held on March 25. Excluding the COVID-19 period, this is the first time since the event began in 1988 that Japanese participants have been excluded. Some local media have assessed that the case in Wuxi is a symbolic example of a growing ‘de-Japanization’ trend, spreading beyond simple urban maintenance to the private sector.

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