It’s been nearly three months since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment about Taiwan, in which she said an emergency involving the use of force there could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” in Japan. The remark angered officials in China, and the nation’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens to refrain from visiting Japan. Relations between the two countries have continued to disintegrate since then, and, in a social media post on Monday, the ministry reiterated its warning, stating, “Chinese citizens in Japan are facing serious safety threats.” Chinese airlines are also continuing to cancel flights to Japan.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi | Wikimedia
Chinese Airlines Extend Cancellation and Rescheduling Period for Flights to Japan
According to the China Daily, the cancellation rate for flights from mainland China to Japan stands at 47.2% this month, up 7.8% points from December. On Monday, information platform Flight Master revealed that all scheduled flights on 49 China-Japan air routes have been canceled for February 2026. Also on Monday, China’s biggest airlines — Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines — announced that they were extending their cancellation and rescheduling period for Japan-related flights until October 24. Previously passengers were eligible for free refunds or ticket time changes for flights up until March 28.
The Panda cubs Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei returned to China on January 27, 2026 | Image via Ueno Zoo Gardens on X
The End of Panda Diplomacy Between China and Japan
As well as Chinese tourism plummeting in Japan, Beijing is reportedly tightening the screening of Japan-bound exports of rare earths and other rare metals. On top of all that, this week Japan waved goodbye to its two remaining Chinese pandas. On Sunday, thousands of visitors flocked to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo to say farewell to twin cubs Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who were born to their parents Shin Shin and Ri Ri in 2021. It leaves the country without any pandas for the first time since 1972. They departed the country on Tuesday.
“I’ve been coming to watch them since they were born,” Nene Hashino, a woman in her 40s, told the Guardian. She added, “It feels like my own children are going somewhere far away. It’s sad.” With relations between the two nations worsening, the prospect of China loaning any pandas to Japan in the near future seems remote. The country started utilizing giant pandas as diplomatic gifts to strengthen ties with other countries after the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. China, though, retains ownership of all pandas it loans overseas.
