Japan ranked first on Tuniu's list for the 2025 long holiday period, but strained bilateral relations have pushed the country out of the top 10, Kyodo News reported.

The shift follows a November 2025 advisory from Chinese authorities urging citizens to avoid travel to Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks in Parliament suggesting that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a response from Japanese defense forces, AFP reported.

A crowd of tourists walk at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, western Japan, March 29, 2023. Photo by Reuters

Visitors from mainland China led the Japanese tourism market for the majority of 2025, with nearly 7.5 million arrivals in the first nine months of the year.

However, Chinese tourist numbers plummeted by approximately 45% in December 2025 and continued to decline sharply throughout 2026.

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan fell 56.4% year on year in the first six months of 2026, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

This year, Indonesia, Turkey and South Korea have emerged among the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese travelers, according to data from Tuniu.