China escalates pressure on Japan with travel bans, cancellations and suspended exchanges

China escalates pressure on Japan with travel bans, cancellations and suspended exchanges

Relations between China and Japan have taken one of their sharpest downward turns in years after Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that a Chinese assault on Taiwan could be viewed as an existential threat to Japan. Her remarks implied that Japan’s military could be drawn into a conflict — a suggestion Beijing denounced as provocative and hostile, the Financial Times reported.

Chinese state media framed Takaichi’s comments as a direct military threat. Over the weekend, Beijing sent coastguard vessels to waters near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, escalating maritime pressure as diplomatic tensions rose.

Tokyo has tried to calm Beijing. Senior foreign ministry official Masaaki Kanai is in Beijing to argue that Japan’s position has not fundamentally changed. But the fallout is already accelerating across politics, business and culture.

State companies block staff travel as warnings widen

One of the most immediate responses came from China’s state-owned enterprises. Employees at major groups in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Hunan said they had been instructed to cancel personal trips to Japan. In some companies, managers stopped processing travel approvals altogether.

In sectors where senior staff travel is tightly controlled, the message was even clearer. At least one state group told employees that passports held by management would not be released until “the tense atmosphere” eased. Even staff whose passports were not withheld said they had been warned that travel to Japan could carry professional consequences.

Travel agency executives said tour groups to Japan had been abruptly halted following official guidance. Bookings for December were cancelled nationwide, and agencies were told they must wait for explicit permission from local culture and tourism bureaus before resuming sales.

Cultural, academic and student exchanges also hit

The impact spread quickly to cultural exchanges and education. A major annual gathering of Japanese and Chinese scholars, the Beijing–Tokyo Forum, has been postponed for the first time since it began in 2005. China’s foreign minister Wang Yi had been expected to address the event, making the cancellation symbolically significant.

Film distributors in China have delayed the release of multiple Japanese titles. Industry executives said at least two or three films planned for the coming weeks would be pushed back, with more suspensions possible.

Japanese officials said group tours for prospective Chinese university students had also been shelved. China is Japan’s largest source of international students, making the cancellations an unusually blunt diplomatic signal.

Industry groups that had planned study visits to Japan over the next month reported widespread cancellations, with dozens of delegations calling off their trips.

Economic ripples and strategic anxieties

The moves have hit tourism stocks in both countries. Chinese media have circulated unverified claims of attacks on Chinese visitors in Japan, adding to public unease. Travel analysts say the freeze is likely to affect thousands of businesses that ordinarily rely on a steady flow of visitors, students and industry groups between the two economies.

Behind the immediate tensions is a deeper strategic anxiety. Japanese policymakers fear that a Chinese takeover of Taiwan would undermine regional democracy and give Beijing dominant control over critical sea lanes. China, insisting Taiwan is part of its territory, has vowed to prevent permanent separation and has warned Japan not to interfere.

A confrontation likely to deepen

For now, authorities in both capitals are maintaining channels for dialogue, but neither side shows signs of softening its position. Beijing insists Tokyo crossed a red line on Taiwan, while Japanese officials say the region’s security environment has changed and that Japan cannot ignore the implications of a crisis in the Taiwan Strait.

With travel bans widening, cultural exchanges frozen and diplomatic rhetoric hardening, one of Asia’s most important bilateral relationships is entering a new phase of volatility — one shaped by the future of Taiwan and the shifting balance of power in East Asia.