China Cancels 49 Routes to Japan: Impact on Tourism, Airlines, and Passengers

China has cancelled all scheduled passenger flights on 49 air routes linking the Chinese mainland and Japan, suspending services across several of Northeast Asia’s most strategically important aviation corridors, according to flight schedule data and airline notices published on January 26, 2026, China Daily reported.

Scale and Scope of the China–Japan Flight Cancellations

The suspension applies to entire city-pair routes, rather than partial frequency reductions, meaning no scheduled passenger services will operate on the affected links during the February 2026 scheduling period, as China Daily quoted data compiled from Chinese flight tracking platform Flight Master showing that the 49 cancelled routes represent a sharp escalation from January 2026, when approximately 47% of China–Japan flights were already cancelled.

In our previous piece, we had already touched upon the fact that Chinese outbound tourists diverting travel plans to Japan had led and South Korea, Russia and Thailand emerging as frontrunners for redirected Chinese travelers.

According to a report publish in The Strait Times, on 26th January, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – three airlines which rank among the busiest in China– issued notices to specify what measures needed to be taken for tickets on Japan routes. The same publication cited a travel reminder issued by China’s Foreign Ministry:

“Under the policies, passengers holding eligible tickets purchased or reissued before midday on Jan 26 can make one free change, subject to fare differences, or apply for fee-free refunds for unused segments. The measures cover Japan-related flights scheduled between March 29 and Oct 24, including services to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Okinawa.”

In the last month of 2025, the three carriers discussed above extended a previous Dec 31 deadline for ticket refunds and rebooking to March 28. China’s Foreign Ministry’s Department of Consular Affairs said that Chinese citizens in Japan were likely to face “serious security threats”:

“Recently, public security in Japan has deteriorated, with frequent incidents of illegal and criminal acts targeting Chinese citizens…”

The following numbers quoted by ChannelNewsAsia show how big a market China is for Japan:

• China was Japan’s largest source of tourists in the first nine months of 2025, with approximately 7.5 million visitors, representing 25% of all foreign tourists.

• The weaker Japanese yen attracted Chinese tourists, who contributed an estimated US$3.7 billion in spending during the third quarter of 2025.

• In December 2025, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan dropped roughly 45% year-on-year, totaling 330,000 visitors.

The same source also revealed that the cancelation of routes affected:

13 flights between Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport and Shenzhen’s Bao’an International Airport, as well as 113 flights between Beijing’s Daxing International Airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.

Why has China Canceled is 49 Routes to Japan?

According to a piece published in United Daily, next month marks China’s “longest Spring Festival in history”, as Chinese New Year holiday will be celebrated from February 15th to February 23rd, with a total of 9 days off including adjusted rest days. According to Asia Gaming Brief, “booking estimates and flight data reveal” that South Korea is set to be the top destination for Chinese travelers during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

In mid-November, China issued an advisory discouraging its citizens to travel to Japan due to remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concerning Taiwan, saying that Japan could militarily intervene in Taiwan if it were to be attacked by China:

However, Takaichi has clarified her stance and said that it was not a matter of Japan taking “military action if China and the United States come into conflict (over Taiwan)”:

“If something serious happens there, we would have to go to rescue the Japanese and American citizens in Taiwan. In that situation, there may be cases where we take joint action. And if the US forces, acting jointly with us, come under attack and Japan does nothing and simply runs away, the Japan-US alliance would collapse.”

In a different piece published in The Strait Times, China’s Foreign Ministry was urging Japan to “earnestly reflect and correct its mistakes, and to stop its manipulation and reckless actions on the Taiwan issue.”

According to a poll published by the Nikkei newspaper, support for Takaichi’s  government has fallen to its lowest level since she took office last October, at 67%. The same source also highlighted the following figures to reflect how important China is for Japan’s tourism industry:

• Chinese visitors to Japan (December): 330,400

  • Year-on-year change: -45.3%

  • Significance: First decline since January 2022

• Chinese visitors’ contribution to Japan’s inbound tourism spending (2025): over 20%

  • Approximate value: $11.7 billion

• Total foreign arrivals in Japan (2025): 42.7 million

  • Visitors from China: ~9.1 million

  • Year-on-year change: +30% from 2024

Refund Rules Issued by the Affected Airlines

China Southern has already issued out a notice showing the terms and conditions of the refund. The following table gives us a cue:

Section	Details
Applicable Tickets	– Tickets with a number starting “784” for China Southern Airlines – Purchased or exchanged by 12:00 on January 26, 2026 (inclusive) – Unused itinerary involves flights operated by China Southern Airlines or codeshare flights with a CZ flight number – Arriving at or departing from Japan (including stopovers) between March 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 (inclusive)
Ticket Change Rules	– First change on the same route segment is exempt from change fee – Any fare difference applies as per regulations – Subsequent changes follow the ticket’s conditions of use
Refund Rules	– Refund applications made within the ticket’s validity period are free of refund fees – Tickets already changed according to the above rules are subject to the ticket’s conditions of use for refunds
Miscellaneous	– Other matters follow the ticket’s conditions of use