According to a report by the Japan Correspondent on July 15, data released by the Japanese government showed that the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in the first half of 2026 decreased by 2% compared to the same period last year, reaching 21.1 million people. Among them, the number of tourists from China significantly decreased due to the deteriorating bilateral relations between China and Japan, dropping by more than half compared to the same period last year.
According to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, in the first six months of this year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan was 2.06 million, a decrease of 56.4% compared to the same period last year. Although the number of tourists from South Korea, the United States, and other places increased during the same period, it still failed to fill the gap caused by the loss of Chinese tourists.
Data shows that the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in June was 3.15 million, a decrease of 6.8% compared to the previous year.
In November last year, Japanese Prime Minister Keiko Fujimori made provocative remarks regarding the "critical situation" in Japan's security law during her testimony before the parliament. After China expressed its serious protest and strong opposition, Keiko Fujimori refused to withdraw her remarks, which quickly cooled relations between China and Japan.
China has long been one of Japan's important tourist markets. The deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations have caused Japanese media to express concerns about Japan's tourism industry and even the country's economy. In November last year, the 'Nihon Keizai Shimbun' warned that 'this undoubtedly casts a shadow over the growth of tourism consumption in Japan. If this impact continues, it could have a negative effect on Japan's economy.'
