Tourists from China and Japan each cancelled trips between the two countries amid bitter protests against the other.

Japanese tourists cancelled trips to China following anti-Japan protests that have targeted companies and nationals. All Nippon Airways said that around 40,000 seat reservations for the three months to November were cancelled on its Japan-China flights while Japan Airlines claimed that 15,500 reservations for the same period had been cancelled, AFP reports.

According to Yomiuri Shimbun, at least 34 Japanese high schools have either cancelled school trips to China or are considering alternate destinations, saying that current tensions could put the students in danger. A school official from Gifu Municipal Business High School said: “The safety of our students is the most important thing”.

Many Chinese have also called off trips to Japan over safety concerns as media headlined anti-Chinese acts, such as the attacks on the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka. More than 50,000 Chinese were expected to arrive in Japan during the National Day holiday period on Oct 1, Asahi Shimbun reports. China’s government have not issued an official travel ban to Japan. The China National Tourism Administration urged tourists to take safety precautions and asked travel agencies to carefully handle tours to Japan.