BEIJING, Jan 26 (Reuters) - China on Monday warned its citizens against travelling to Japan during the Lunar New Year, its longest public holiday, as Beijing's anger over a comment Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made in early November about democratically governed Taiwan showed no signs of abating.

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan plummeted by 45 per cent last month from a year earlier, to around 330,000.

A week in which longtime tensions between neighbors China and Japan ratcheted up economically and politically is drawing to a close with no sign of improvements.

Japan’s diplomatic mission in the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing has been left without a consul-general, as relations between Tokyo and Beijing remain strained.

Japan has ramped up its security cooperation with the Philippines in other ways, too, steadily donating vessels and other equipment to the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy for years. There are now discussions that the navy could also acquire secondhand warships and air defense missiles from Japan.

The number of Chinese visitors to Japan plummeted by 45% last month from a year earlier, to around 330,000, as a result of the spat.

Japan underlined their dominance in Asian youth football with a commanding victory over China in the U23 Asian Cup final, defending their continental title and becoming the first team to win the tournament three times.

Japan tourism hits record despite  downfall from China during 2025 Japan witnessed a sharp decline in visitors from China in December, with arrivals