Japan’s tourism industry rattled by China travel boycott | The World | ABC NEWS
The busy streets of Tokyo are teeming with visitors, but the industry has been rattled by a Chinese government warning against traveling to Japan. A concerning development for a market where Chinese visitors account for more than a fifth of business. Even just yesterday, some individual travelers contacted me to say they could no longer come to Japan due to China’s travel advisory and told me that they hoped to visit once Japan China relations have improved. More than 500,000 Japan-bound flight tickets from China were cancelled as tensions escalated in recent weeks. They were sparked by comments from the newly elected prime minister who suggested Japan could become militarily involved if China invaded Taiwan. Since then, the countries have traded diplomatic barbs and China has been exerting economic pressure with boycots including tourism and seafood imports. While tourism is at the center of this, depending on the sanctions or restrictions China may impose going forward, there could also be effects on overall exports and imports. Japan has now said it plans to deploy a missile unit on its westernmost island just over 100 km from Taiwan, but insists it’s purely for self-defense. We believe its deployment will reduce the very possibility of armed attacks against our nation and do not consider the argument that it will heighten regional tensions to be accurate. Japan’s deployment of offensive weapons in areas adjacent to China’s Taiwan region is a deliberate attempt to create regional tensions and provoke military confrontation. This move is extremely dangerous. It’s not the first time Japan has faced China’s economic wrath. A 2012 dispute over uninhabited islands claimed by both countries saw Japanese goods boycotted in China. I really hope negative feelings among Chinese people towards Japan don’t intensify. There have been times like that in the past. Negative sentiment towards Japan appearing in the news and so on. I just hope things don’t head in that direction again. Experts say the travel boycott could cost Japan more than $17 billion. and further fracture the Japan China relationship. Amelia Costigan, ABC News
Japan’s tourism industry is increasingly worried about the fallout of a diplomatic stoush with China, after the Prime Minister’s comments about Taiwan angered Beijing. It’s retaliated by warning its citizens not to travel to Japan, which has led to hundreds of thousands of holidays being cancelled. Amelia Costigan reports.
Subscribe: http://ab.co/1svxLVE
ABC NEWS provides around the clock coverage of news events as they break in Australia and abroad. It’s news when you want it, from Australia’s most trusted news organisation.
For more from ABC NEWS, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
Watch more ABC NEWS content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1
Go deeper on our ABC NEWS In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
Like ABC NEWS on Facebook: http://facebook.com/abcnews.au
Follow ABC NEWS on Instagram: http://instagram.com/abcnews_au
Follow ABC NEWS on X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/abcnews
Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.
#ABCNEWS #ABCNEWSAustralia #ABCTheWorld #ABCAsiaPacific