Japan's tourism industry hit hard after PM's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan

More than a month after China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, Japanese businesses that relied on Chinese tourists are struggling during what should be their peak travel season.

In a statement published on its official website in November, the ministry cited the travel advisory issued by the Chinese foreign ministry, which referred to a deteriorating security environment for Chinese citizens in Japan as well as provocative remarks made by the Japanese leader regarding China's Taiwan.

As a result, about 30 percent of the 1.44 million trips scheduled from China to Japan through the end of December have been canceled.

In Asakusa, one of Tokyo's most popular tourist destinations, this time of year would typically see streets packed with Chinese visitors, who rank among the city's biggest spenders. Their presence has long supported a wide range of local businesses, from rickshaw drivers to kimono rental shops.

This year, however, store owners are feeling a sharp drop in Chinese tourists, and the year-end slump is cutting deeply into their revenues.

Tomomi Ogawa, store manager at kimono rental shop Cocomo Tokyo, is one of many businesses caught in the fallout. She said that Chinese customers used to make up 20 to 30 percent of her clientele, but now the situation has changed dramatically.

"The town has somehow become quieter. We've seen a big drop in the number of customers. If people stop to come, the overall energy just isn't there," said Ogawa.

Up to September this year, Chinese tourists still constituted the largest share of inbound travelers to Japan -- a loss that is now proving difficult to replace.

With Chinese airlines maintaining reduced flight schedules through March next year, Ogawa expressed worry that the downturn could extend beyond the Chinese New Year, typically one of her busiest periods.

"I think the Chinese tourists won't come until spring. They would wait until spring. Chinese tourists really like kimono rentals, so when they don't come, it causes real damage to us," she said.

The impact is also being felt across the broader tourism economy. Kansai International Airport in western Japan reported that flights between the airport and the Chinese mainland in December have decreased 34 percent, with a further 28 percent drop expected from January to March next year.

In Osaka, 21 hotels reported that 50 to 70 percent of bookings made by Chinese nationals have been canceled.

Japan's tourism industry hit hard after PM's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan

Rare footage of a musk deer has been recorded for the first time in the Shifang section of the Deyang area of the Giant Panda National Park in southwest China's Sichuan Province, offering fresh evidence of improving biodiversity protection in the vicinity.

The images, released recently by the park's Shifang management station, were taken in the Shentai area at an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters, where steep terrain and harsh weather long limit human activity.

The footage shows the agile animal stopping to scan its surroundings before moving on.

"The musk deer remains extremely timid and elusive, often called a 'hermit of high mountains,' and places very high demands on habitat integrity and low human disturbance," said Zeng Xiangbo, a staff member with the Shifang management station.

Infrared cameras deployed across the Shifang area have also captured activities of other nationally protected species, including golden snub-nosed monkeys, Asian black bears and leopard cats, underscoring stable population recovery and a well-preserved ecosystem in the region.

Rare footage of elusive musk deer captured in Sichuan's panda park