Statements from Japan's newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan and military response to a Chinese invasion have now prompted China to counterattack.
This weekend, state-controlled media advised Chinese citizens against traveling to Japan in the near future, which is having an effect on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
China accounts for a quarter of all tourists who visit Japan annually and China is also Japan's largest trading partner. On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, consumer-oriented companies such as cosmetics chain Shiseido, down 9 percent, and Isetan Mitsukoshi, down 11 percent, are now falling. The latter company runs many large department stores that would be affected by a decrease in tourism. Another loser is Oriental Land, which runs Disney Land outside Tokyo.
This is not the first time tensions between Japan and China have affected travel between the countries. In 2012, the number of Chinese visitors fell by 25 percent compared to the previous year following a similar warning, and boycotts of Japanese goods were also implemented.
For the Tokyo Stock Exchange as a whole, however, the effect is smaller. The Nikkei 225 index is down 0.1 percent just before closing while the broader Topix index is down 0.4 percent.
