Air China, China Eastern and China Southern have waived change and cancellation fees on all flights to Japan until 28 March 2026 after political tensions triggered a sharp drop in bookings. Industry data show more than 1,900 China–Japan flights were cancelled in December alone, with capacity on some leisure routes slashed by 40 percent.
The move followed Beijing’s 14 November travel advisory urging citizens to reconsider trips to Japan after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan. Travel-platform Umetrip reports that search traffic for Osaka and Sapporo has fallen by half, while queries for alternative winter destinations such as Russia’s Far East, Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul and China’s own Changbai Mountain have surged. Chinese ski resort operators are capitalising, rolling out bundled packages to capture displaced demand.
![Chinese carriers offer free refunds as Japan-bound demand collapses]()
To help travellers and corporate planners adapt to these shifting itineraries, VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/china/) can fast-track visa processing and provide real-time guidance for Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other alternative hubs—streamlining approvals so that rerouted trips proceed without administrative headaches.
For corporate mobility planners the disruption is two-fold: employee trips to Japan may need rerouting or rescheduling, and project teams relying on just-in-time components from Japanese suppliers face longer lead times. Procurement chiefs are urging staff to shift in-person meetings online or relocate them to neutral hubs such as Seoul or Singapore, both of which retain robust flight schedules from China. Some firms are also reviewing expatriate allowances for staff based in Tokyo as housing prices soften.
Travel insurers, meanwhile, have tightened policy wording on “known events,” warning that advisories linked to geopolitical disputes may limit claim eligibility. HR departments should cross-check coverage and update risk briefings accordingly. Observers say the fee-waiver window provides flexibility for travellers to wait out the diplomatic chill, but longer-term recovery will depend on a thaw in bilateral relations.
The move followed Beijing’s 14 November travel advisory urging citizens to reconsider trips to Japan after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan. Travel-platform Umetrip reports that search traffic for Osaka and Sapporo has fallen by half, while queries for alternative winter destinations such as Russia’s Far East, Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul and China’s own Changbai Mountain have surged. Chinese ski resort operators are capitalising, rolling out bundled packages to capture displaced demand.
To help travellers and corporate planners adapt to these shifting itineraries, VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/china/) can fast-track visa processing and provide real-time guidance for Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other alternative hubs—streamlining approvals so that rerouted trips proceed without administrative headaches.
For corporate mobility planners the disruption is two-fold: employee trips to Japan may need rerouting or rescheduling, and project teams relying on just-in-time components from Japanese suppliers face longer lead times. Procurement chiefs are urging staff to shift in-person meetings online or relocate them to neutral hubs such as Seoul or Singapore, both of which retain robust flight schedules from China. Some firms are also reviewing expatriate allowances for staff based in Tokyo as housing prices soften.
Travel insurers, meanwhile, have tightened policy wording on “known events,” warning that advisories linked to geopolitical disputes may limit claim eligibility. HR departments should cross-check coverage and update risk briefings accordingly. Observers say the fee-waiver window provides flexibility for travellers to wait out the diplomatic chill, but longer-term recovery will depend on a thaw in bilateral relations.
