Flights between China and Japan faced even more cancellations in March – with further cuts expected during the coming Labour Day holiday – as political tensions between the Asian neighbours continue to simmer.

A total of 2,691 China-Japan flights were scrapped last month, according to figures from the data platform DAST cited by Chinese media outlet Yicai. That brought the cancellation rate to nearly 50 per cent, 1.1 percentage points higher than February.

Only 2,711 flights between the two countries took place last month, down from 5,512 in March 2025, according to aviation intelligence firm OAG. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan also plunged 55.9 per cent year on year to 291,600, data from the Japan National Tourist Organisation showed.

The cuts look set to continue beyond the coming Labour Day holiday, which runs from May 1 to 5 in China and is normally a peak time for travel.

About 45 per cent of planned flights from China to Japan have been cancelled for May, including 210 services running over the Labour Day holiday, Yicai reported, citing data from Chinese flight tracker platforms. Airports in Beijing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai have been most affected.

OAG data shows only 2,643 China-Japan flights scheduled for next month, a 55 per cent drop compared with the same period last year. It is a similar story in June, with 2,376 China-Japan flights scheduled, down from 5,598 the previous year.

The reductions in flights are being driven almost entirely by Chinese airlines, with OAG data showing barely any change in Japanese carriers’ service frequency over the past year. “It’s primarily a Chinese airline thing, which by extension is a political move,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG.

The mass flight cancellations began in November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan could deploy military forces in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.