Impact ripples through Japan’s retail sector, with falling duty-free sales at top department stores highlighting the pain for the industry
Arrivals from China shrank 61 per cent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 45 per cent decline in December, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said on Wednesday, citing a shift in the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday and warnings against travel to Japan. The fall dragged down the total number of inbound visitors by 4.9 per cent last month.
The slide was triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments late last year that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be considered an “existential threat”, a characterisation that could give Japan legal justification for deploying troops. Beijing subsequently cautioned its citizens against travelling to Japan, resulting in flight cancellations up to March 2026.
The impact has rippled through Japan’s retail sector. Duty-free sales at Japan’s top department stores fell again in January, highlighting the prolonged pain for the industry.
Japanese PM ‘open’ to talks with ChinaChinese tourists have been the backbone of Japan’s post-Covid recovery, accounting for about a fifth of ¥9.6 trillion (US$62.7 billion) in tourism revenue in 2025. But the strained ties between the Asian neighbours have exposed Japan’s reliance on China as a vulnerability, intensifying its efforts to diversify its visitor base.
