Japan's winter tourism hit hard as China slashes 40% of December flights

Chinese state media and aviation-data firms say the pullback is being driven almost entirely by Chinese airlines, The Straits Times reported.

New analysis of OAG schedules shows carriers have removed around 400,000 seats from their December 2025 plans compared with early November filings, a dramatic contraction that wipes out dozens of nonstop routes and thins out many others, Simple Flying reported.

Some of the sharpest cuts hit Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya and other Japanese destinations that rely on Chinese tourists. Several carriers have made particularly deep reductions: China Eastern trimmed about 13% of its December capacity, Air China nearly 10%, and China Southern around 24%. Low-cost and regional operators went even further: Spring Airlines cut 36.3%, Juneyao 41.1%, and Shenzhen Airlines slashed roughly half of its services.

The reductions follow a diplomatic flare-up triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan, which angered Beijing. China later issued a safety advisory against travel to Japan and instructed its airlines to scale back flights through March 2026, signaling a longer confrontation rather than a one-off schedule tweak.

Airlines have since offered free cancellations and travel waivers through Dec. 31, while rapidly redeploying aircraft to protect utilization. The cuts come at a painful time for Japan, which is entering winter and spring peak travel seasons, including its lucrative ski months, and counts China as its largest source of foreign visitors.

Economists warn the slump could cost Japan up to US$1.2 billion in lost visitor spending between November and year-end, Bloomberg reported. Some analysts expect diverted Chinese demand to spill into other regional destinations, adding a new layer of uncertainty to Japan’s tourism recovery.