Flights from China to Japan Decreased by 48% in January

The number of passenger flights from China to Japan in January decreased by 48% compared to the initially announced flight schedule. Of the 20 domestic airports in Japan originally scheduled to operate flights, 10 airports saw zero flights from China, with Kansai International Airport experiencing a 62% decrease. Even into February, which includes the Lunar New Year holiday, there is no clear prospect of flight recovery, and the related economic impact is spreading to regional tourism and areas within Japan.

According to data from the British aviation research company Cirium, a comparison was made between November 14, 2025, and January 5, 2026, when the Chinese government urged its citizens to temporarily avoid travel to Japan. Flights from mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) to Japan decreased from 5,747 to 3,010.

Airports in Sendai, Ibaraki, Niigata, Toyama, Komatsu, Kobe, Okayama, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima saw zero flights from China. The largest reduction in flights was at Kansai International Airport, from 2,355 to 888. The number of Chinese airports with routes to Kansai Airport decreased from 29 to 14. Sichuan Airlines cancelled all flights to Kansai International Airport, while Qingdao Airlines and Xiamen Airlines suspended over 80% of their flights.

On the other hand, Narita Airport in the Tokyo metropolitan area saw a decrease in flights from 1,185 to 778 (a 34% reduction), and Haneda Airport saw a decrease from 991 to 957 (a 3% reduction). Compared to Kansai International Airport, the reduction rate at airports in the Tokyo metropolitan area was lower.

As of November 27, 2025, based on flight schedules for the following December, 904 flights nationwide have been cancelled, but no airports have had any flights cancelled. It is expected that the number of cancelled flights will increase more than threefold, with the impact lasting until the end of March when the winter schedule continues.

According to a 2024 survey conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, foreign travelers using airports for “tourism and leisure” purposes accounted for an average of 88% of those airports with zero flights from China. In comparison, Narita Airport’s figure was 66%, and Haneda Airport’s was 62%, a significant difference.

Some analysts believe the “U/L rule” is also having an impact. This rule stipulates that if the actual number of takeoffs and landings is less than 80% of the existing slot allocation, the airline will lose its priority slot allocation for the same period the following year. At busy airports like Haneda and Narita, airlines may assess that reducing flights would pose a risk to future resumption of operations.

Hideaki Matsumoto, a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University specializing in air transport, stated, “The extent to which business travelers affected by calls to avoid traveling to Japan can be ensured directly relates to the scale of flight reductions.”