Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, February 18 (Reporters Li Shimeng and Liu Chunyan) Data released by the Japanese Government Tourism Bureau on the 18th showed that the number of tourists from mainland China to Japan fell by 60.7% year-on-year in January, further expanding from the 45.3% decline in December last year.

Data show that due to the sharp decrease in Chinese tourists, the total number of foreign tourists visiting Japan decreased by 4.9% year-on-year in January, the first year-on-year decline in four years.

Japanese media and experts pointed out that since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made erroneous remarks about Taiwan, tourists from mainland China to Japan have begun to decrease significantly, which has had a negative impact on Japan's retail, accommodation, catering and other economic sectors.

"Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported that data from Tripla, a company engaged in the reservation management system business of accommodation facilities, showed that during this year's Spring Festival, the cancellation rate for hotels in Japan from China reached 53.6%, an increase of 14.9 percentage points from the Spring Festival in 2025. In addition, duty-free sales at department stores such as Mitsukoshi Isetan, Takashimaya, and Daimaru Matsuzakaya all fell by more than 10% year-on-year in January this year. Yoshiharu Nisaka, executive director of the Japan Department Store Association, expressed concern about this, believing that "the severe situation in the tourism market is expected to continue."