With diplomatic ties between Tokyo and Beijing turning sour, Japan's tourism industry is increasingly worried that Chinese companies may follow the lead of Pro-Health, a health product maker that last week canceled an incentive tour for thousands of its employees.
"Apart from Pro-Health, I haven't yet heard of large-scale cancellations by Chinese tourists to Japan. We will not change our activities to lure Chinese tourists, but we hope no other companies follow what Pro-Health did," said Kazutaka Nakajima, an official at the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The travel industry's problems started when Japan arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with two Japan Coast Guard ships near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Sept. 7. He is being held pending a prosecutors' decision whether to indict him.