China urges travel agencies to reduce Japan-bound visitors by 40%

SHANGHAI - China has urged domestic travel agencies to reduce the number of Japan-bound tourists by 40 percent, industry sources said Thursday, amid a Beijing-Tokyo row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on a Taiwan contingency.

Major travel agencies in China were told in late November to cut the number of Japan visa applications by 40 percent following Takaichi's Nov. 7 parliamentary remarks that suggested an attack on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, possibly involving its defense forces, the sources said.