Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned.
A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash.
However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety.
Photo: AFP
“Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito said.
Chinese buyers normally make up half of the customers at her business in the capital’s traditional Asakusa district, where crowds of tourists stroll through shop-lined alleys.
Many tourism and retail businesses in Japan rely heavily on Chinese visitors, who spend more on average than other foreign tourists on everything from sushi to skincare.
Some hotels, designer clothes shops and even pharmacies have Mandarin-speaking assistants, while department stores often have signs in Chinese.
In Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district, Yuki Yamamoto, the manager of an Instagram-famous udon noodle restaurant, said he had not noticed any immediate impact on sales in the days since China warned its citizens to avoid Japan.
“I don’t think there’s been any sudden, dramatic change,” he said, despite estimating that on a normal day about half the hungry diners who queue outside his door are Chinese.
“Of course, if customers decrease, that’s disappointing for the shop, but Japanese customers still come regularly, so we’re not extremely concerned,” he added.
China is the biggest source of tourists to the archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of this year — one-quarter of all foreign tourists, official Japanese figures show.
Attracted by a weak yen, they splashed out the equivalent of US$3.7 billion in the third quarter.
Last year, each Chinese tourist spent on average 22 percent more than other visitors, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.
However, a record 36.8 million arrivals from across the globe last year has also led to fears of overtourism affecting the daily lives of many in Japan.
On Nov. 7, Takaichi implied Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
Beijing then advised Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, and retail and tourism stocks subsequently plunged. Most have yet to recover.
In response, Japanese Minister of State for Economic Security Kimi Onoda — a hawkish political figure — warned of the danger of “relying too heavily on a country that resorts to economic coercion whenever it is displeased.”
That “poses risks not only to supply chains, but also to tourism,” she said.
Wu Weiguo, the manager of a travel agency in Shanghai, said that “the biggest impact is on group travel,” with 90 percent of his clients requesting refunds for planned Japan itineraries.
However, only about 12 percent of Chinese visitors last year came to the archipelago as part of organized tours, down from almost 43 percent in 2015.
Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yasushi Kaneko said the issue was not “something to get all worked up about,” adding that there has been an increase in arrivals from other countries.
Nevertheless, hotels in Japan that heavily depend on Chinese customers are feeling the effects.
“Cancelations from travel agencies in China are coming one after another,” said Keiko Takeuchi, who runs the Gamagori Hotel in central Japan.
“About 50 to 60 percent of our customers are Chinese nationals,” Takeuchi said. “I hope the situation calms down quickly, but it seems it will take time.”
Beijing has made clear it was furious with Takaichi, summoning Tokyo’s ambassador and postponing the release of at least two Japanese movies, according to Chinese state media.
However, Wu said that the spat would not stop holidaymakers dreaming of Tokyo.
“They believe the service is high-quality and shopping is reasonably priced,” he said. “Chinese people will continue to want to visit Japan.”
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