Hong Kongers’ Interest in Visiting Japan Remains High

Hong Kong, Nov. 24 (Jiji Press)–Despite recent travel warnings from Beijing and Hong Kong authorities, interest among people in Hong Kong in visiting Japan remains strong, with no significant cancellations of group tours reported. After the Chinese government urged its citizens not to visit Japan over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks about a potential Taiwan contingency, the Hong Kong authorities, operating under China’s “one country, two systems” policy, issued a travel advisory to its residents. Japan is a popular travel destination for Hong Kong people, many of whom are pro-Japan. There have been no noticeable cancellations of trips to the country. There will be little impact on the desire of people in Hong Kong to visit Japan, a citizen said of the travel advisory. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, a record 2.68 million people from Hong Kong visited Japan in 2024. By country or region, Hong Kong, which has a total population of about 7.5 million, ranked fifth after South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan and the United States. On Nov. 15, Hong Kong’s security authorities updated their travel advisory for Japan. Without providing evidence, they claimed there is an increasing trend of Chinese nationals being attacked in Japan and urged citizens to exercise heightened vigilance when visiting the country. However, the authorities stopped short of advising against traveling to Japan. Currently, the authorities have designated only areas around Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant as “yellow,” the lowest of the three travel warning levels. Other areas remain unaffected. In response to the warning, airlines in Hong Kong have been flexible with reservation changes. Travel agencies, however, say they have seen fewer inquiries about group tours to Japan but no mass cancellations. The regulatory body has also made it clear that sales of tours to Japan can continue, and tours are being held as usual. An official of a major local travel agency said that people’s willingness to visit Japan tends to decrease when they feel in danger, such as during an earthquake. However, people in Hong Kong feel psychologically more distant from the political confrontation between Beijing and Tokyo than residents of mainland China. Many expect no major impact unless stronger measures are taken, such as raising the travel warning level and canceling flights. Hong Kong people won’t care, a woman in her 30s said about the travel advisory for Japan. Still, she said there is a possibility that the situation could become serious, such as a travel ban. A Hong Kong woman in her 40s said people around her are happy, hoping that Kyoto in western Japan, a popular destination for Chinese tourists, will finally become quiet. She noted that there are expectations that Chinese people’s self-restraint in traveling to Japan will help reduce overtourism in the country. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]