While in Japan, Chinese customers bought specialty goods such as luxury items, facial masks, household items, and even toilet seats. (Photo : Reuters)
Although Sino-Japanese relations were placed under the controversy spotlight earlier this year due to issues related to the 75-year anniversary of the end of the Second World War this year, Chinese tourists have been demonstrating their actual attitudes with their travel dollars..
The Kyoto News publication reported on Wednesday that the Japanese Embassy and consulates in China issued around a quarter of a million visas to Chinese tourists over the course of January, which set a record for the first month of any year in the history of the nation.
The Japanese authorities are expecting large numbers of Chinese tourists during the Spring Festival celebration, which begins on Feb. 18, as they visit their most favored travel destination.
The number-one ranking is based on data from online media company Travelzoo, which stated that Japan was the top destination for Chinese travelers and was ranked above the U.S.
Of the 4,300 Chinese survey participants, nearly 40 percent selected Japan as their most favored location. Travelzoo's results were reinforced by China's National Tourism Administration, which revealed that more than 2.5 million Chinese tourists traveled to Japan between Jan. and Nov. 2014. The total number of Chinese people who entered Japan was 51 percent greater than the total for the same period in 2013.
January's Japanese visa figures may surprise those who thought that Sino-Japanese relations remained ice-cold due to the ongoing absence of an apology from Japan for alleged war crimes that include the "comfort women" phenomenon.
However, in addition to Japan granting Chinese nationals three-year multiple-entry tourist visas in 2012, the Japanese yen has depreciated and a third round of consultations between the two nations on maritime affairs commenced in January.
